Viet Nam currently lacks pigs to breed after the impacts of African swine fever. Imports of pigs from Thailand will help restore stocks for the next few years. — Photo may3a.com

Viet Nam has imported 250 pigs from Thailand to breed and is encouraging businesses to import more to help restock herds across the country after the impacts of the African swine fever outbreak.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said this was the first shipment of 20,000 pigs to have been imported from Thailand this year. “These pigs should produce piglets at the end of this year.”

Tien said that domestic piglet prices were currently very high, from VND2.8 million to more than VND3 million each, however many localities had failed to meet farmers’ demands.

Pham Tran Sum, director of Viet Duc International Nutrition Company Limited, said the company faced many difficulties transporting pigs from Thailand due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shipments had to go through the borders of Thailand, Laos and Viet Nam.

“In each country, we must use our own vehicles to transport the pigs, causing transportation costs to rise up to VND2 million per pig,” Sum said.

The price of imported pigs is ranging from VND13-15 million.

Sum said his company planned to sell piglets for more than VND2 million each, marking a drop of about 30 per cent compared with the current piglet prices in the domestic market.

Deputy Minister Tien said businesses had registered to import more than 110,000 pigs to breed this year to ensure sufficient stocks from 2020-24. — VNS