HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Supplies of poultry and pork products areexpected to be sufficient in HCM City during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet)holiday, which falls on January 25.

At a recent meeting with the city’s market stabilisation task force led by NguyenHuynh Trang, deputy director of the municipal Department of Industry andTrade, poultry producers and distributors said they had prepared more thanenough chicken and duck meat products at stable prices for Tet.

Pham Thi Ngoc Ha, director of San Ha Co., Ltd, said her companyhad prepared 5,000 tonnes of poultry meat a month to serve customerson the country’s biggest holiday.

Poultry meat and egg suppliers Ba Huan and Vinh Thanh Dat plan to increasesupply by 20 - 30 percent for the holiday season.

If there is a surge in demand, pushing up prices, enterprises willbe capable of supplying a large volume of poultry meat and eggs tostabilise the market, they said.

Businesses said that the supply will be sufficient both in fresh andimported frozen meat, but the price may inch up.

Nguyen Dang Phu, deputy general director of Vissan, said “There is no shortageof pork." 

Vissan has signed contracts with other pig suppliers such as CP, Everest, CJ,Japfa and pig breeding farms to ensure supply.  

At the same time, Vissan also signed a commitment contract with majordistributors to ensure supply from December 1 to January 24.

Vo Van Thieu, director of Sai Gon Livestock Breeding and Food ProcessingCompany (Sagrifood), said the company would supply 1,000 tonnes of fresh pork,280 tonnes of chicken meat, and 140 tonnes of processed meat during Tet, doublingthe volume that the company had registered under the city’s market stabilisationprogramme.

Nguyen Anh Duc, permanent deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, said thatSaigon Co.op had signed an agreement with pork suppliers a long time ago to buy3,500 to 4,500 tonnes of pork at good prices to sell at its Co.opmart, Co.opXtraand Co.opFood systems nationwide from now to Tet andafter Tet.

The pork will be sold under the city’s price stabilisation programme. Inaddition, Co.opmart, Co.opXtra and Co.opFood are also selling chilled porkproducts using European production technologies and herb-fed pork to offercustomers more choice, he said.

Saigon Co.op has also prepared a large volume of chicken and duck meat, andfishery and aquaculture products to serve customers during the peakshopping season.

Vu Van Tu, director ofTruong Giang Phat One Member Co., Ltd in Dong Nai province’s Bien Hoa city,said the price of live pigs has fluctuated strongly, with prices in theafternoon higher than in the morning.

He attributed the situation to a lower supply due to the impact of Africanswine fever and a higher demand for pork since businesses have sped upproduction of pork-based products for Tet.

But while large pig breeding companies offered live pig price at 79,000 VND(3.4 USD) per kilo, in some areas traders had to pay up to 90,000 VND (3.88 USD)to buy pig from farmers, he said.

According to enterprises, large pig breeding farms are offering good prices tolarge customers who regularly buy their pigs at a large quantity, while smallbreeding farms and household farmers expect that pig prices willincrease in the near Tet, so they have reduced selling the pigs, pushingup prices. 

Tu said after the peak production for Tet ends, the price gapbetween large breeding companies and the market price will shrink because such ahigh price will affect consumption demand.

Thieu from Sagrifood said that the current high price of live pigswas only temporary since the price would affect consumption and livepig prices would fall soon.

Representatives of somewholesales markets in the city said the volume of pork in themarket has fallen significantly, while the volume of freshfishery and aquaculture products have increased compared to last month./.