Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - TheMinistry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has said pork must be eligiblefor price stabilisation due to the high demand for this essentialgood on the domestic market.
Despite efforts of marketmanagement forces and recent large volume of imports, pork prices havecontinued to increase in recent times despite 15 livestock enterprises pledgingto keep prices under 70,000 VND (3 USD) per kilo.
On April 16, live hog prices atfarms increased by 2,000-7,000 per kilo to 88,000-92,000 VND in the north.
Especially, Thai Binh provincehad the highest price of live hogs in the country at 92,000 VND per kilo, 4,000VND higher than the previous day.
Live hog prices on April 16surged by 7,000-12,000 VND per kilo to 78,000-88,000 VND in the central regionand Central Highlands
Meanwhile, it reached 76,000-87,000VND per kilo in the south, up 1,000-4,000 VND per kilo compared to the previousday.
The price rose by 2,000 VND perkilo to 91,000 VND in Hanoi and 1,000 VND to 80,000 VND in HCM City, accordingto vietnambiz.vn.
At present, the price of porkin traditional markets in Hanoi is fluctuating between 150,000-180,000 VND perkilo depending on the cut, an increase of about 11,000 VND per kilo againstlast week.
According to the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, pork is traded in line with market mechanisms. The porkprice changes depending on supply and demand, with a supply shortage leading toprice increase. Therefore, to stabilise the pork price, the long-term solutionis to increase pork supply to meet domestic demand.
To have enough pork supply, Vietnamneeds a sustainable domestic industry and to increase pork imports,the ministry said.
The ministry has monitored thedomestic pork market, including supply, demand and prices of pork products topropose solutions to stabilise the market.
It has also directed marketsurveillance forces to enhance control of the pork market to prevent thetrading of products with unclear origin.
The ministry has alsorequested enterprises that have joined the market stabilisation programme toset up plans to stabilise the price.
Meanwhile, the MoIT askedVietnamese trade offices abroad to seek market information and connect foreignpartners to local pork import enterprises.
The ministry also worked withthe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to diversify resourcesof imported pork.
The MARD said the high porkprice was due to a lack of supply, the high cost of pig rearing due to usingbio-safety measures and intermediaries who boost the price.
Nguyen Van Trong, Deputy Directorof the MARD’s Department of Livestock Production, said controlling theintermediaries is very difficult as the market lacks production and tradingchains.
The MARD has recommendedhusbandry businesses, especially large firms, build production chains. Thosechains would help enterprises and State agencies easily control pork prices.
It has co-operated withrelevant ministries and sectors to reduce intermediaries from production toconsumption and increase pork imports to meet domestic demand.
The ministry has also suggestedlocal consumers increase their consumption of other kinds of food, he said.
According to the GeneralStatistics Office, in the first quarter of this year, live hog output reached811,000 tonnes, down 19.3 per cent year-on-year.
The output is expected to surgeto 950,000 in the second quarter, one million tonnes in the third quarterand 1.1 million tonnes in the fourth quarter. Thus, by the third quarter, thedomestic supply of pork would meet about 90 per cent of pork demand.
Meanwhile, according to theMinistry of Industry and Trade, in the first quarter, Vietnam imported nearly 25,300tonnes of pork, up 205 per cent year-on-year./.
VNA
