​Breeders expect that at the end of the year, especially during the 2022 Lunar New Year, livestock products will be sold at better prices. However, the livestock industry still faces many difficulties because the price of animal feed has not decreased and is likely to continue to increase in the near future.

Chicken farm in Cam My District. Photo by Phan Anh

Restart the market

When economic and social activities gradually return to a new normal state, the prices of many livestock products gradually increase again, and farmers begin to make profits.

Currently, the price of factory chicken sold at the farm is high between VND30,000-32,000 per kilogram, many times higher than before when the price was less than VND10,000 per kilogram a few months ago. The price of free-range chickens in captivity ranges from VND55,000 to VND60,000 per kilogram. The price of big size duck in recent weeks has tended to gradually increase, currently between VND36,000-VND38,000 per kilogram. The price of live pigs sold at the farm depends on the farm and the locality, priced from VND47,000 to VND50,000 per kilogram. However, this is not the price that farmers expect because it is lower than the general price level in the same period last year. However, this price has increased a lot more than the previous difficult months, farmers have also made a profit.

In which, the price of factory chicken increased quite well. Mr. Le Quang Huy, owner of a chicken farm in Long Duc Commune, Long Thanh District said that the price of factory chickens has reached a good price and farmers have made profit. In addition, the weather in the last months of the year is also quite favorable for the chicken to grow, and the disease has been controlled. However, due to the high price of animal feed and many other input costs, the farm also reduced the number of breeding litters, so the profit also decreases.

The market's demand is gradually recovering, which is the reason for the price of livestock products to rise again to a much higher level than when the price bottomed a few months ago. In which, the supply is decreased because farmers have reduced their herds due to the existing difficulties. According to a report by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province's total poultry herd is currently 25.3 million heads, down 7.54% over the same period. The province's total pig herd reached nearly 2.4 million heads, an increase of more than 1% over the same period in 2020.

Pig farmers worry that the increased prices of live pigs cannot compensate for the continuously escalating price of animal feed. Photo of Pig farm in Vinh Cuu District by Phan Anh.

Worried about rising input costs

Despite the price of livestock products has increased, difficulties and challenges still faced by the livestock industry when the input costs are still too high. Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, pig farmer in communal Road No. 25, Thong Nhat District shared: “Every year with the current price, pig farmers have made good profits. But at present, pig farmers have almost no profit, even capital loss because the price of feed has increased too high. Our farmers not only want to have the stable output and good prices, but also reasonable input costs, so farmers can be confident to invest in production."

Currently, Vietnam's animal feed production is still dependent on imported raw materials, so it is directly and strongly affected by the fluctuations of the world market. According to businesses and experts, it is difficult for the price of animal feed to decrease but is likely to continue to increase in the near future.

Dr. Michel Guillaume, Technical Director of Olmix Group (France), forecast that due to the impact of climate change, it is difficult for the supply of animal feed ingredients to recover soon, possibly until mid-2022 to be normal again. In addition, the influencing factor that causes the price of animal feed to increase sharply is the high cost of transportation. Vietnam should step by step look for other sources of raw materials that are always available in the country to replace imported materials.

According to Mr. Le Van Quyet, Vice Chairman of Southeast of Vietnam Poultry Breeding Association, the prices of bran and many other input materials have increased, causing the cost of livestock to be greatly increased. It is forecasted that from now until the end of the year, the price of animal feed is unlikely to decrease or even increase due to a decrease in the world supply of raw materials and the effects of climate change. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic also makes transportation costs only increase and not decrease.                                                                                                       

Phan Anh