AsemconnectVietnam - Domestic meat processor Vissan plans to buy an additional 200 pigs a day from Long An Province to support pig farmers there but at a price still far below production cost, according to a meeting on April 25 between the company and Long An authorities.

Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An Province, said famers have been struggling with falling pork prices in recent months. Specifically, prices of live pigs have dropped from VND31,000-33,000 per kilo (US$1.37-1.45 per kilo) before the Lunar New Year to VND23,000-25,000 per kilo at present while production cost hovers around VND37,000 per kilo.

According to Khanh, Long An Province currently has a herd of 299,000 pigs, including over 21,500 pigs raised under VietGAP standards. Since the Lunar New Year, the decrease of pork prices has caused losses of about VND40-50 billion to pig farmers in the province.

Phu of Vissan said to ensure product quality, the company will only buy pigs meeting VietGAP standards or raised under the Leafsap project. According to Phu, Vissan now needs 1,500 pigs a day.

To support pig farmers in Long An, Vissan can buy 200 pigs a day from the province at VND26,500-27,000 per kilo. Even with this price, farmers still incur hefty losses.

In addition to quality requirements, Phu required that pigs be gathered at a certain area and then transported by Vissan to its slaughterhouse. The company will complete payments for farmers seven days after the date of transaction.

With the demand poised to grow in 2017, Vissan will need up to 2,000 pigs a day and will increase by 35% in the following years. At the same time, the company’s food processing facility in Ben Luc District, Long An Province which will be operational in late 2018 will help increase pork consumption for the province.

Therefore, Long An pig farmers need to improve their rearing by applying VietGAP or higher standards to ensure the supply of quality pigs for Vissan.

In related news, the Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co.op) has announced to reduce prices of pork sold at its supermarkets and food stores by 10-20% from now to May 2 to boost pork consumption.

According to a representative of Saigon Co.op, although pork is sold at reduced prices, Saigon Co.op is still buying live pigs from farmers at unchanged prices to support them.

Source: thesaigontimes.vn