April 16, 2009

Foodstuff prices have been going up at the Vietnamese capital, Ho Chi Minh City supermarkets and markets, especially pork and poultry products.

 

Farms in the south-eastern region said they are now selling industrially raised chicken at VND24,000 to VND25,000 a kilogramme, VND4,000 higher than last week. The cost sums up to VND33,000 to VND35,000 when the product reaches the market.

 

Free-range chicken is up VND6,000 a kilogramme to VND32,000 at farms and VND48,000 to VND50,000 on the market.

 

Pork is also up VND4,000 at farms to VND41,000 to VND42,000 and as high as VND72,000 to VND79,000 at the market. The price has gone up by VND10,000 since last month.

 

The farms attribute the sharp rise to a prolonged pig epidemic, but assured that there will be sufficient supply to meet market demand in the next two months.

 

Phu An Sinh Company director Pham Van Minh said that demand for poultry is soaring recently.

 

Hoang Kim Giao, head of the central Animal Husbandry Department, said the increase in the price of pork and poultry is due to a recent hike in import tariffs and high animal feed prices.

 

Hoang said poultry traders in city markets blame the price rise on higher transport costs following a second fuel price hike this month.

 

Pork traders said that due to the high prices in Vietnam, 700 to 800 pigs from Thailand are transported over the Cambodian border to Tay Ninh Province daily.

 

This figure is up to 2,000 in provinces like Long An, Binh Phuoc, Dong Thap and An Giang.

 

Pig trader Ngo Ngoc Lam said that Thai pigs costs VND30,000 to VND32,000 per kilogramme and an increasing amount of them are arriving in the city.

                         

US$1 - VND17,850 (Apr 16)