CAN THO – After rising for a couple of weeks, the price of live pigs in the Mekong Delta and the southeastern region have sharply fallen although the Lunar New Year holiday as the high season of food consumption has 10 days to go.

Speaking with the Daily, Nguyen Tri Cong, chairman of the Dong Nai Livestock Association, said live pig prices in Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces over the past three days have slipped by VND2,000-4,000 a kilo from two weeks ago.

The prices now fluctuate between some VND39,000 and VND40,000 a kilo, he stated. Weeks ago, pig prices sometimes shot up to VND45,000 a kilo.

In other provinces such as Tien Giang, Long An, Dong Thap and Vinh Long, traders are paying VND37,000-38,000 for a kilo and VND35,000-36,000 for a kilo of lower-quality live pigs, shrinking an average of VND2,500 a kilo against more than a fortnight ago.

“A few weeks ago, prices of live pigs had strongly marked up due to a shortfall of supply in northern provinces, resulting in higher demand for pigs from the delta and southeastern region,” Cong said. But demand in the north has slowed, pulling down the price as a result, he explained.

Besides, Cong noticed that the price stabilization program to some extent has also dragged down live pig prices at home.

Despite the current price fall, pork prices in the Mekong Delta have still remained high, ranging from VND75,000 to VND85,000 a kilo depending on pork types.

“Live pig prices have decreased but pork prices have still stayed high as additional costs at wholesale markets have now risen,” Cong added.

The Saigon Times Daily