Import volume increased by 27.1%, but value decreased by 20.9%
Recently, during the peak period of food safety inspection, Market Management Team No. 20 coordinated with Animal and Veterinary Station Area 6 and functional agencies in the area to inspect a food business establishment.
Through inspection, functional forces discovered more than 83kg of frozen pork being stored in the warehouse. Working with the inspection team, the facility owner could not present invoices and documents proving the legal origin of the entire shipment.
The incident shows that the requirement to control supply, trace origin and quality of food needs to be emphasized.
According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), in the first 7 months of the year, Vietnam imported 112,090 tons of fresh, chilled or frozen pork, worth 185.54 million USD. Import volume increased by 27.1%, but value decreased by 20.9% compared to the same period last year.
The average import price of pork is only about 1,638 USD per ton, equivalent to 43,000 VND/kg, down 38.4% compared to the same period in 2025.
This level is about 25-28% lower than the domestic live pig price and significantly lower than the price of minced pork, currently commonly 70,000 - 145,000 VND/kg.
Recorded at some traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City, pork is still a regular consumption item, but small traders said that purchasing power is differentiated. People tend to consider prices more carefully before buying and choose meat portions that suit their pockets.
Ms. Ngoc Hong - a small trader selling pork at Ba Chieu market - said that the purchase volume of some customers is no longer as high as before. According to small traders, the selling price to consumers also depends on the price of live pigs, transportation costs, slaughtering and many other costs, so it is very difficult to reduce deeply.
In the context of the market having more imported meat sources, sellers also have to balance prices to retain customers, but still have to prioritize goods with clear origins and quality assurance.
Livestock farmers suffer double pressure
Mr. Nguyen Kim Doan - Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Livestock Association - said that the domestic livestock situation is currently very bleak. According to him, the biggest pressure is price competition between domestic products and imported goods.
“The price of imported pork is about 40,000-43,000 VND/kg, while the price of live pigs in the country is higher. The price of chicken at the gate is only about 32,000 VND/kg, while the production cost has approached 40,000 VND/kg. Thus, farmers are suffering losses of about 6,000-8,000 VND/kg” - Mr. Doan said.
Not only under pressure from output, input costs also continue to increase. According to Mr. Doan, the price of animal feed in this month continues to increase for the 5th time, each time about 200-400 VND/kg. For large-scale farms, an increase of several hundred VND per kg of feed can create a significant cost. When the selling price is difficult to increase correspondingly, the profit margin is narrowed, and small households are even more difficult to maintain their herds.
Competitive pressure is not only taking place in markets and supermarkets. Cheap imported meat can also go into industrial kitchens, schools and businesses. Units that have to reduce costs tend to choose low-priced sources if they meet quality and food safety requirements.
Meanwhile, trade commitments have caused many imported goods to have a 0% tax rate, thereby creating conditions for goods from markets with economies of scale and costs to access the Vietnamese market deeper.
Faced with the above pressure, some farming households began to shift to developing local livestock breeds such as wild boars to serve the specialty market segment. According to Mr. Doan, this may be a direction to help a part of farmers find their own market, but it is only a niche.
This solution cannot solve the problem for millions of farmers. Without fundamental solutions, small-scale farmers will increasingly find it difficult to survive. This is a very difficult problem for the livestock industry in the coming years.
