Low production costs, high profits for businesses.

Since the beginning of the year, live pig prices have been on a sharp upward trend and remain at a high level. Currently, live pig prices in the North are trading at 76,000-78,000 VND/kg; in the Central region, prices fluctuate between 75,000-82,000 VND/kg.

In the southern provinces, the price of live pigs has soared to 80,000-83,000 VND/kg. This is also the region with the highest price of live pigs in our country.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , the price of live pigs has tended to increase from the beginning of 2024 until now. Specifically, in the early period of 2024, the price of this item stabilized around 52,000-60,000 VND/kg, then gradually increased and reached 70,000 VND/kg in the middle and end of the year.

Since January, the price of live pigs has fluctuated strongly day by day. Currently, some localities have increased to 83,000 VND/kg - the highest level since mid-2020.

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Soaring pork prices have brought huge profits to livestock businesses. Photo: Tam An

High pig export prices along with lower prices of feed ingredients and finished feed products help farmers make profits, creating motivation for farmers to restore their herds.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) previously calculated that for farms with 200 or more fattening pigs, the production cost of live pigs is nearly 51,500 VND/kg. If the price is between 75,000 and 83,000 VND/kg, farmers selling pigs weighing 100kg (standard weight) would earn a profit of 2.35-3.15 million VND per pig.

Recently, BaF Vietnam Agriculture Joint Stock Company (BAF) also revealed that the average production cost of 1kg of live pig is estimated at approximately 45,000 VND/kg, while the price of live pigs is currently maintaining around 70,000 VND/kg, reaching a peak of 83,000 VND/kg. Based on this, BAF aims for a profit of 450 billion VND in 2025, a 40% increase compared to 2024.

In 2024, thanks to rising and consistently high pork prices, BAF reported a net profit of over 395 billion VND, nearly eight times higher than in 2023.

This year, with pork prices hovering at peak levels, BAF estimates its revenue for the first and second quarters to reach approximately VND 1,100-1,200 billion and VND 1,400-1,500 billion respectively. The projected revenue for the whole year is VND 6,000-6,500 billion.

Similarly, the leaders of Dabaco Group once revealed that the production cost was only 48,000-51,000 VND/kg of live pig meat. Therefore, Dabaco is confident that the company will achieve high profits.

In its 2024 financial report, Dabaco recorded after-tax profit of 769 billion VND, an increase of nearly 3,000% compared to the same period, or approximately 30 times. This year, the "giant" plans for pre-tax profit of 1,108 billion VND, a 29.3% increase compared to the estimated profit for 2024, and projected after-tax profit of 1,007 billion VND, a 30% increase compared to the same period.

Pork prices are high, with some types soaring to 280,000 VND/kg.

While businesses are reporting huge profits, consumers are having to tighten their belts as pork prices in markets skyrocket to exorbitant levels.

At traditional markets in Hanoi , the price of some pork products has been adjusted to increase by 20,000-40,000 VND/kg depending on the type, even though this product is in a rather sluggish state.

Specifically, the price of pork belly ranges from 150,000-180,000 VND/kg; shoulder, ham, rump meat ranges from 140,000-150,000 VND/kg; loin ribs, baby back ribs range from 200,000-220,000 VND/kg...

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With fresh pork prices skyrocketing, many consumers are switching to cheaper frozen pork. Photo: Tam An

Meanwhile, some premium pork brands list prices for minced pork, pork trotters, pork shoulder, and pork belly from 150,000-195,000 VND/kg. Special pork belly and tenderloin ribs are priced at 250,000 VND/kg and 280,000 VND/kg respectively.

Many consumers are complaining that pork prices are so high that they are having to cut back on meat portions in their family meals, or switch to frozen pork or other cheaper foods that fit their budgets, especially as incomes tend to decrease.

In fact, at some supermarkets and stores, frozen pork is being sold at extremely low prices compared to similar domestically produced products. For example, frozen pork trotters and ribs are priced at 49,000 VND/kg, while frozen pork knuckles are 59,000 VND/kg… These prices are even cheaper than the price of live pigs at the farm gate in our country.

Statistics show that in January, Vietnam's imports of fresh, chilled, or frozen pork reached 12,600 tons, valued at approximately US$33.75 million (nearly VND 861 billion), a dramatic increase of 105% in volume and 149.1% in value compared to the same month last year.

Notably, after being transported from many countries such as Brazil, the US, Russia, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands... to Vietnam, the average import price of fresh chilled or frozen pork is only 2,672 USD/ton (about 68,000 VND/kg).

Experts and livestock businesses predict that pork prices could continue to rise and remain high for the next 1-2 months due to supply shortages. Therefore, prices may only cool down when supply stabilizes and more pork is imported.

Pork shortage pushes prices to skyrocket, what does the Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry say? In the face of a large pork shortage that has pushed prices to their peak, the Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry said that due to high demand before and after Tet, people have stocked up their cupboards, leading to local shortages.