The price of live pigs is still relatively high and is expected to continue to increase in the coming time. Many pig farmers are eager to sell pigs, promising a ‘warm Tet’ season when they earn hundreds of millions of dong in profits.
“Call once and traders will buy everything”
After 2 years of struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2023, Mr. Hoang Van Chung’s family (residing in Son Duong district, Tuyen Quang) dared to re-herd with a scale of about 500 sows and pigs, which has been maintained until now.
Since the beginning of the year, the family has regularly sold about 80 – 90 pigs each month, with an average weight of 130 kg/pig. “There are pigs for sale every month, bringing in a fairly stable source of income. In the latest sale, the price of live pigs reached 66,000 VND/kg, which is a good price, ensuring farmers make a profit,” said Mr. Chung.
It is forecasted that in the coming time, the price of live pigs will continue to maintain a positive momentum, which is beneficial for farmers.
Similarly, Mr. Tran Quoc Toan, owner of a pig farm in Da Trach commune (Khoai Chau district, Hung Yen province), excitedly shared with Thanh Nien that after a few years of temporarily stopping pig farming due to low prices, his family will resume raising pigs in 2024 with a scale of about 400 sows. As the sows give birth, the family will raise them into pigs for meat, the first batch of pigs for meat this year is about 300 pigs.
“Currently, each pig weighs about 80 kg, raising it for about 1 more month until Tet will exceed 100 kg/pig. The price of pigs is fluctuating between 65,000 – 66,000 VND/kg, which is relatively good. If the price continues to be good in about 1 month, and we feel it is favorable, my family will sell to make a profit,” said Mr. Toan.
Mr. Toan calculated that under normal farming conditions, not much affected by the epidemic, when the price of live pigs exceeds 50,000 VND/kg, farmers will start to make a profit. If he sells all 300 pigs weighing more than 100 kg/pig, his family can make a profit of about 600 million VND this year.
Regarding consumption, for 300 pigs for sale, you only need to call one source and 4-5 traders will come to buy them all, each person will buy about 50-60 pigs. “Right now, even though the pigs are only about 80 kg/pig, if you call traders at a price of 65,000 – 66,000 VND/kg, they will immediately come to weigh them all. However, the family wants to raise the pigs to grow bigger and earn higher profits,” said Mr. Toan.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Bac, Director of Loc Phat BLLT Livestock Company (Son La province), shared that about a week ago, the company sold a batch of pigs at 61,000 VND/kg, making a profit of about 600,000 VND/pig after deducting costs. In recent days, the selling price of pigs has increased to about 64,000 VND/kg, with a profit of 1 million VND/pig.
“This year, except for the beginning of the year when pig prices were quite low, the rest were at high levels, so farmers generally made a profit. At the moment, the Tet season is starting, so pigs are easy to sell and prices are on an upward trend,” Mr. Bac reflected.
Raising and waiting for the situation
The profit of 1 – 2 million VND/pig, according to Mr. Toan, is quite high compared to the time before the African swine fever outbreak. Previously, the profit was only about 500,000 VND/pig. “However, in the period before the epidemic, although the profit was less, the farmers who held the profit felt very secure, not as worried as they are now. Now, raising pigs is like gambling, they can develop well but if they get an epidemic, they will immediately lose everything,” Mr. Toan expressed his concern.
Considering that in 2025, the price of live pigs will continue to remain high, Mr. Toan said that even if the price drops, it cannot be below 60,000 VND/kg, and farmers will still make a profit. However, Mr. Toan’s family has determined not to massively re-herd, but to “raise and wait” for the situation.
“My family’s barn can raise about 2,000 pigs at full capacity, but we also have to consider and select according to the epidemic situation, and only raise more when it is safe. Currently, my family has decided to only raise a small amount of pigs, about 300 – 400 pigs at a time. In addition to the pigs that can be sold near Tet, my family has a litter of newly born pigs about 20 days old, ready to raise. The family always tries to keep the barn area clean to limit the risk of disease,” said Mr. Toan.
According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong, Chairman of the Vietnam Livestock Association, this year’s feed prices are lower than previous years, so the input is not high, so the price from 50,000 – 55,000 VND/kg or more is profitable for farmers, depending on the type of livestock. Domestic production is still relatively affected by the epidemic, limiting the supply, so since the beginning of the year, the price of live pigs has been on the price axis that is beneficial for farmers, which is 60,000 – 65,000 VND/kg.
“In the coming time, the price will still ensure profitable livestock farming, and farmers can rest assured to invest. However, the key point is to control the epidemic well, especially African swine fever,” Mr. Duong emphasized.
Speaking at the conference to review the work in 2024 and deploy tasks in 2025 of the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) on the afternoon of December 16, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien assessed that veterinary medicine is a special field, with problems and incidents every year, such as African swine fever, blue ear disease, etc.
In 2024, some outstanding issues are the hybrid strains of African swine fever… In the coming time, Mr. Tien directed that it is necessary to focus on building disease-free production areas, strengthening management in the slaughter sector to ensure food safety. In addition, in import and export, it is necessary to continue to prevent and combat smuggling of livestock products.