Imported pork floods Vietnam after swine flu cull

By Dat Nguyen October 22, 2019 | 04:00 am PT

Pigs are seen at a farm outside Hanoi, Vietnam June 28, 2019. Photo by Reuters/Kham.

Pork from Brazil, the U.S. and Poland, mostly bones and neck, has been pouring into Vietnam at lower than domestic prices.

As of mid-October, HCMC had imported 10,820 tons of pork worth $21.3 million this year, up 155 percent year-on-year, according to the city’s customs department.

Brazil accounted for 52.5 percent total volume, followed by Poland at 13.8 percent and the U.S. at 10.2 percent.

Prices of imported pork ranged from VND44,250-48,000 ($1.90-2.06) per kilogram, lower than those of domestic pork at VND55,000-60,000 ($2.36-2.58) per kilogram.

However, Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy director of HCMC Industry and Trade Department, said that imported pork prices were low because most of it comprised bones and neck parts that are priced low in the exporting countries.

Vietnamese prefer fresh pork, therefore imported frozen meat is often used for processed food like sausages, with only a few businesses importing high quality parts for storage, he added.

Domestic prices have risen to their highest in the last three years as supply of pork dwindles because of the African swine fever outbreak, which has resulted in Vietnam culling almost 5 million pigs.

From January to September, Vietnam imported 14,824 tonnes of pork worth $220 million, according to the General Statistics Office.

Pig stock in the country dropped 19 percent year-on-year in the period, while pork supply fell 9 percent, it said.