Largest pig barn in central region faces stagnation and loss

Anh Thanh, a trader from An Duc Commune who specializes in purchasing pork to supply for Da Nang markets, said that since Da Nang City implemented social distancing to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic, pigs raised in Hoai An District have suddenly faced a miserable sluggishness.

Da Nang is the main consumption market for pigs raised in Hoai An, but when this locality implemented the distance, the purchasing agents also stopped trading pigs, causing stagnation for those raised in Hoai An.

“Before, I used to supply about 100 pigs every day for Da Nang markets without a day off for the whole month. But recently, every 2-3 days, I can only supply about 40-50 pigs every two or three days only to Quảng Nam markets," said Anh Thanh.

In addition to buying and selling pork, Anh Thanh also raises hundreds of pigs. As the output has been stuck, the price of pigs has now dropped to very low. Pigs raised in households are only sold at VND50,000 kg while super lean pigs raised in the industrial farms are priced at VND56,000 - 57,000/kg. At this price, pig farmers lose nearly VND1 million/head.

“In this batch of pigs, I bought super lean breeds of about 10kg each at a price of VND3.2 million and raised for three and a half months with each pig eating nine bags of bran. The price of bran for pigs has continuously increased in recent years. Currently, the bran for piglets is priced at VND450,000/bag (25kg), bran for pork meat is VND350,000/bag.

Calculating the cost from raising to slaughtering, each pig consumed bran worth VND2.8 million plus the breeding capital of VND3.2 million, the total cost of raising a pig is about VND6 million.

When the pigs reach 100kg/head and with the current selling price is only VND5.6 million/head, if I add the labor cost and the cost of 2-3 injections of vaccines, electricity, water, and veterinary drugs, I lose nearly VND1 million/head," Anh Thanh shared.

During the time of low prices, in the barn of Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (40 years old) in An Duc Commune, Hoai An District, there were only more than 10 pigs with each weight 60kg, and nearly 90 pigs to gain weight of 20 - 30kg/head so he's not too worried about consumption.

However, seeing the scene of traders shaking their heads every time when someone wants to sell the pigs, he couldn't help but worry. He prays for the Covid-19 pandemic to pass quickly so that the market can consume pork meat strongly again, and when his pigs are sold, he can avoid capital loss.

“I don't breed in an industrial way, so I don't buy super lean breeds, just regular ones that cost VND1.4 million/head (6kg). To raise them until reaching a weight of 80kg/head, the cost of food for each pig is nearly VND3 million. As it takes a long time for the pig to reach harvest since the piglets are only 6kg/head, the total cost of food and breeds is nearly VND4.4 million/head.

At the current price of VND50,000/kg, each 80kg pig sells for VND4 million, I suffer a white loss of VND400,000. If it is included with labor costs, veterinary drugs, electricity, and water, the loss reaches nearly VND1 million/head”, Mr. Bình estimated.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vuong, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Hoai An District, as the Da Nang market stopped buying pork meat, Hoai An now could only sell a few hundred of slaughtered pigs every day, compared to about 1,000 ones before.

However, the consumption demand in the district and provincial markets is still stable, so farmers can still sell pigs. Currently, in Hoai An District, An Tuong Tay Commune and Phu Van village of An Huu Commune are implementing social distancing according to Directive 16 of the Government. In order to create favorable conditions for farmers in the isolated area to sell their products, local authorities have supported consumers to reach the sellers when they cannot directly come to the markets.

“The People's Committee of Hoai An District has set up some points right at the green traffic routes for farmers who want to sell their pigs could contact traders and partners via phone. When they have agreed to buy and sell, a force of young volunteers and communal militiamen will come to the farmer’s to weigh the pigs, transport them to the gathering points, deliver them to the traders, and then receive the money and deliver them to the farmers that sell the pigs. During the process of taking pigs for weight and transporting them to the gathering points, both the forces and traders must strictly comply with regulations on prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic”, said Mr. Vuong.