Chicken price increasing sharply, but out of stock for sale

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vuong, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Hoai An District, Binh Dinh Province said: "One month ago, no one came to buy chickens raised in Hoai An District, and that made the price drop dramatically. Now, the price has increased with high and strong sales but farmers no longer have chickens to sell.”

According to Mr. Vuong, due to the sharp drop in chicken prices from the first months of the year until the holiday of April 30 with a slight increase of VND70,000 /kg, farmers did not have time to start the chicken herds then it again dropped to VND65,000/kg.

 That is about the price of chickens raised by releasing on the hill, but for those raised in cages, it only stood at about VND55,000/kg at the time after April 30. The price had been reduced and consumption was also weak, so traders did not come to the farms as busy as before to buy the chicken.

“Since the beginning of the year, farmers in Hoai An District are only worried about how to sell all of the chicken they have raised on their farm but do not dare to re-herd. Now, although the price of chickens raised by releasing on the hills has increased to VND70,000/kg and the price of chickens raised in captivity is currently at VND65,000 /kg, farmers do not have chickens to sell," said Mr. Vuong.

Nearly a month ago, in Mr. Mai Van Ro's farm in An Tuong Tay Commune, Hoai An District, about 20,000 chickens still could not be sold, but now have been sold out. Meanwhile, the later litters of chickens that Mr. Ro is raising on the hills are still not reaching sufficient weight for sales.

"Due to the very unstable price of chickens and a continuous increase in the price of animal feed, I have left the barn empty and dare not re-herd after selling the first batch of chickens at the beginning of the year, while in the past I always kept 10,000 chickens in the barn. Now that the price is high and the sale is good, I have no chickens for sale. Not only me, but nearly 80% of livestock farmer households in the area are in the same situation as me,” said Mr. Nguyen Manh Huy from Nhon Hung ward, An Nhon town.

According to a survey, the consumption of poultry meat in Binh Dinh Province is currently at a high rate. In particular, chicken, duck, and quail meat are consumed more strongly at supermarkets and markets than before. Due to the implementation of the Covid-19 prevention and control program, people choose poultry meat to serve for their daily meals.

In the past week, the amount of poultry meat sold in markets and supermarkets in Binh Dinh increased by 30-50%. In which, the meat of chicken raised industrially has a low price of only VND50,000 - 60,000/kg while the price of Vietnamese original chicken raised industrially and those raised by the free-range stand at about VND80,000 - 90,000/kg and VND100,000-120,000/kg respectively.

Also at supermarkets, the price of chicken raised in the hills in Phu My and Hoai An districts is about VND140,000-160,000/kg while grass duck and Siamese duck cost about VND140,000 -160,000/head and VND60,000 - 70,000/kg, respectively.