Beef prices drop sharply, farmers in trouble

For many years, cattle farming has brought high income to many people in the province, contributing positively to poverty reduction in the locality. However, from 2022 to now, beef prices have decreased slightly compared to before, causing many difficulties for cattle farmers.

beef,meat,10241324.jpg — Farmers in Phu Ung commune (An Thi) take care of their family's cows.

Although he has a lot of experience in fattening cattle, recently, Mr. Nguyen Van Duyen in Tan My 2 village, Phu Cuong commune ( Hung Yen city) has had to reduce his herd. Mr. Duyen said: In many years of raising beef cattle, I have never seen the price of beef cattle as low as now. The price of live cattle in previous years fluctuated around 90,000 - 95,000 VND/kg, peaking at 110,000 VND/kg. However, from 2022 to now, the price of beef cattle has gradually decreased and is now only around 80,000 - 83,000 VND/kg. In 2022, I bought high-priced breeding cows, but when selling the beef cattle, the price was cheap, so there was almost no profit. Previously, my family raised over 20 3B (BBB) cows each year, but now there are only 15 because the more we raise, the more we lose.

Mr. Dao Van Hoa in Ke Chau 1 village, Phu Cuong commune said: Compared to other livestock, raising cows brings high economic efficiency. Therefore, in the past, when the consumption market was stable and the selling price was high, my family invested in building barns, raising over 30 beef cows, deducting expenses for an income of hundreds of millions of VND/year. For more than a year now, the price of beef cows has dropped sharply, and now my family is raising 27 cows. I mainly use straw, grass, and local agricultural by-products as feed for the herd, only occasionally "fattening" them with a few bags of bran, because if I raised them directly with industrial feed, I would lose a lot.

Comrade Dao Manh Cuong, Vice Chairman of Phu Cuong Commune People's Committee, said: Taking advantage of the alluvial land, people in Phu Cuong commune have long developed beef cattle farming. Before the beginning of 2022, people earned a profit of 10 to 12 million VND for each cow sold. But now, farmers have to suffer a loss of several million VND per cow. Therefore, many households in the commune have reduced the number of beef cattle. Currently, the total herd of cattle in the commune is about 6,300, a decrease of about 1,000 compared to 2022.

According to calculations by many farmers, a 3B cow raised from 12 to 14 months can be sold at an average weight of about 500kg. With the cost of breeding from 18 to 25 million VND, feed of 18 million VND, labor costs, electricity, water, veterinary medicine, etc., the selling price of beef must reach 85,000 VND/kg or more to cover all costs. If sold at 80,000 VND/kg, each cow will earn 40 million VND, and the farmer will lose from 2 to 5 million VND/cow.

According to records in the province, from 2022 to now, the price of beef has decreased from 95,000 VND/kg to 80,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, the high price of animal feed has caused farmers to have no profit, even loss. Most farmers are having to find ways to reduce their herds, take advantage of idle farm labor, local feed sources and breeding sources from breeding cows to make a profit.

Mr. Tran Van Thach in La Mat village, Phu Ung commune (An Thi) said: My family currently raises 110 cows, including 20-30 beef cows, selling about 10 tons of beef each year. Because my family can proactively source breeding stock and utilize agricultural by-products such as grass, straw, rice bran, corn bran, banana stems, etc. as feed for the herd, we have reduced the cost of raising cattle. However, with the current low price of beef, my family has almost no profit.

Although the price of beef has decreased sharply and remained low for a long time, the price of beef at traditional markets and supermarkets in the province has remained high for a long time. According to a survey at some traditional markets in the province, the price of finished beef currently fluctuates between 180,000 - 240,000 VND/kg, equal to the price at the time when beef was 90,000 - 95,000 VND/kg. According to some beef traders, although the price of beef has decreased, other costs such as transportation, labor, and slaughtering costs have increased by one and a half times, even double compared to the same period last year. Therefore, when these costs are included in the price of commercial meat, the price will increase.

According to information from the Department of Animal Husbandry (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), at the end of 2022, the total herd of cattle in the province was over 32.2 thousand heads, but now the total herd of cattle in the province has decreased to over 30.8 thousand heads. The price of beef from 2020 to early 2022 fluctuated around 90,000 - 95,000 VND/kg, peaking at 110,000 VND/kg. However, from mid-2022 to now, the price of beef has gradually decreased and is currently around 80,000 - 83,000 VND/kg.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Hoa, Deputy Head of the Animal Husbandry Department (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) said: The reason for the sharp decrease in beef prices is partly due to the fact that currently, there is a large amount of imported beef for domestic consumption. The prolonged low price of beef has caused many difficulties for farmers and they have to reduce their herds. Faced with this situation, the provincial agricultural sector recommends that cattle farmers continue to monitor the market to have appropriate livestock farming plans, not to reduce their herds massively, causing supply disruptions; focus on disease prevention and control to avoid losses due to epidemics and diseases; change food rations, and utilize agricultural products as feed for cattle when feed prices increase. For stable livestock development, localities need to establish cooperatives and associations in livestock production; encourage and call on businesses to invest heavily in association with people, in order to remove difficulties in consumption, helping people develop livestock farming sustainably.

Huong Giang

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