In addition to businesses that have already established inroads in the country, more than 50 foreign enterprises have expressed an interest in exporting pork products to Vietnam, according to information released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Import and Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) stated that in order to ensure a consistent supply of pork for the Lunar New Year or Tet, Vietnam’s trade offices abroad have been actively boosting trade linkages between pork exporters and various domestic import businesses. 

According to information given by the country’s trade offices abroad, some of the world’s major livestock farming producers have reduced their supply to the global market as a result of the African swine fever (ASF) epidemic.

The US Department of Agriculture has forecast that the global pork production during 2020 will fall by 10 per cent due to the ASF epidemic, seriously affecting the livestock industry of several countries, including China (down 25 per cent, the Philippines (down 16 per cent), and Vietnam (down 6 per cent).

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, pork output in 2019 suffered a fall of approximately 14 per cent.

By December 2019, however, the ASF epidemic in many localities had been contained while other provinces were declared free from the epidemic.

According to local Department of Industry and Trade, pork prices in many southwestern provinces have seen falls of roughly VND20,000 per kilo to around VND 80,000 per kilo.

Pork prices in northern regions have also fallen by more than VND10,000 VND per kilo to less than VND90,000 per kilo.