There will be no shortage of pork in the months approaching the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday despite an increase in demand, Nguyen Xuan Duong, acting Director of the Animal Husbandry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

Duong said that the market demand for pork regularly increased by 25 per cent ahead of the Tet holiday. If there were no sudden diseases or extreme weather conditions which might affect pork supply, the supply would meet market demand, Duong said.

The department’s statistics showed that pork output reached 3.81 million tonnes in 2018, an increase of 2.2 per cent over last year.

In some provinces and cities like Dong Nai, Ha Noi, Thai Nguyen and Ha Nam, pig husbandry has shifted from scattered scale to large-scale production.

Pork prices after tumbling to a ten-year low of VND35,000-38,000 per kilogramme (live weight) a year ago started to recover from April to VND50,000-58,000 in the third quarter of this year, then eased to currently VND44,000-50,000.

The department targeted to keep pork prices at around VND40,000-45,000 in 2019.

Duong said that disease prevention would be enhanced together with promoting safe pig raising and slaughtering.

Focus would be placed on developing pig production chains and gradually reducing scattered production to ensure food hygiene and safety and promote exports of high-value products. — VNS