​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - Usually at this time, the market for meat products such as pork, beef, and chicken has begun to become buzzing. Accordingly, the prices of pigs, cows, and live chickens often increase compared to the previous month.

A pig farm in Thong Nhat district 

Due to the general difficulties of the economy, this year's Tet holiday has experienced a decrease in purchasing power which causes the Lunar New Year 2024 market to start later than usual. Currently, livestock products do not yet have Tet prices, and there is an abundant supply waiting for buyers.

Weak purchasing power

Usually from about 2 months before Tet, the market demand for pork and chicken products gradually increases, mainly due to the increased need to use meat as processed products to supply to the Tet market such as spring rolls, pork rolls, sausages... But this year, the processing of meat products for the Tet market is less exciting than usual.  

According to some owners of establishments processing pork sausage, pork rolls, sausages... in traditional craft villages in Ho Nai ward (Bien Hoa city), Gia Kiem commune (Thong Nhat district),... processing activities for the Lunar New Year 2024 starts much slower than previous years. Currently, many establishments in these craft villages only reach 20-30% of the capacity of the same period last year.

According to some owners of pig, cow, and chicken slaughterhouses in the province, the livestock product processing market for the 2024 Lunar New Year market is starting later than usual, with the number of customers ordering meat in order to manufacture processed products also decreased sharply compared to previous years. Even at the current market peak, consumption of pork, beef, chicken... has only increased slightly compared to the previous few weeks. Both processing activities and daily consumption of meat products are much slower than the same period every year. Accordingly, prices of pork, beef, and chicken have not changed much compared to the previous month. Live pork products alone currently stand at 57-58 thousand VND/kg, an increase of about 5 thousand VND/kg compared to last month due to some livestock enterprises gradually increasing the price of live pigs every day. However, the price of live pigs among small-scale farming households increased insignificantly, currently ranging from 52-54 thousand VND/kg, still lower than the production cost.

At the end of the year, the market's consumption is forecasted to unlikely be as exciting as previous years due to lower purchasing power caused by the general difficulties of the economy and consumers tightening their spending.

According to some households raising free-range chickens in Cam My and Long Thanh districts, the current price of free-range chickens sold by farmers in the garden is still stable at 55,000 VND/kg for roosters and 65,000 VND/kg for hens. The price of chicken with colored feathers is cheaper, with the price being less than 40,000 VND/kg. The reason why chicken prices during Tet season are almost unchanged compared to before is because purchasing power in the market has hardly changed. Traders are also cautious about ordering chickens to reserve for Tet sale.  

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Free-range chickens at a farm in Bau Can commune, Long Thanh district, waiting for traders to place orders

​ Don't worry about the price going up

The Lunar New Year is usually the most vibrant consumption season for livestock products of the year. Accordingly, breeders often increase herds to supply to the Tet market with the expectation of high profits. However, this year's Tet season, the prices of some livestock products are still sold below production costs, making livestock farmers feel insecure because they are worried about facing the risk of continued losses. Specifically, the current price of live cows sold at farmers' farms has just reached more than 70,000 VND/kg, still nearly 10,000 VND/kg lower than the production cost.

Mr. Nguyen Van Canh, owner of a cattle farm in Xuan Hoa commune, Xuan Loc district, said that at current prices, cow farmers were losing tens of thousands/kg because with current breeding costs, the price of live cows must be over 80,000 VND for farmers to make a profit. Never before has the cow farming industry been as difficult as it has been recently. With current prices, from major to small farmers, everyone is at a loss. The sharp decline in live cow prices is a common difficult situation for both the domestic and world markets. Compared to a few years ago, when businesses massively imported whole cows from Australia for fattening, the price of Australian live cattle was at its highest at more than 90,000 VND/kg but there was still a shortage of resources. But the price of whole imported Australian beef is currently just over 60,000 VND/kg, so you can order as much as you want. The price of live cattle has never been as low as it is today, but traders still buy in small quantities due to weak consumer purchasing power.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Doan, Chairman of the Provincial Livestock Association, commented that the current price of live pork is determined by the consumer market. During the past months, the market for consuming meat products has been less vibrant because many companies and businesses have reduced workers and reduced production scale because of general difficulties in the economy. Accordingly, many small livestock households do not invest in increasing herds to supply to the Tet market. However, the meat supply for the market is still very abundant, the market's supply and demand will hardly fluctuate strongly because large corporations and livestock enterprises are still growing strongly. ​