December 16, 2011

To meet the local demand during the New Year festival or Tet, Vietnam is forecasted to have shortage of between 25,000-30,000 tonnes of meat, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said.

During Tet holiday, Vietnam's consumption of meat is forecast to increase by 40,000 tonnes, however, the local production is estimated to rise only by 10,000-15,000 tonnes, the ministry said.

In addition, the exports of pigs to China have been boosted recently, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Prices of live pigs have risen by 10.8% from last month to VND56,500 (US$2.69) per kilogramme, the MARD's Statistics and Information Department said.

Cattle are selling at VND170,000-180,000 (US$8.09-8.57) per kilogramme while industrially raised poultry is offered at VND40,000-43,000 (US$1.90-2.05) per kilogramme.

Vietnam will import additionally if the local production output does not meet the demand, said Hoang Kim Giao, head of the MARD's Livestock Department.

Giao said currently Vietnam has 27.55 million of pigs, 5.96 million of cattle and 335 million of poultry.

The country consumes 262,000 tonnes of pork, and 62,000-63,000 tonnes of poultry monthly, he added.