The first batch of 500 imported live pigs arrives at Lao Bảo border gate in Quảng Trị province on June 17. — Photo VGP

HÀ NỘI — The first batch of 500 live pigs from Thailand arrived at Lao Bảo border gate in Quảng Trị province on June 17, after a decline in hog prices in Việt Nam.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the pigs are currently carrying out quarantine procedures in Nghệ An Province. Thành Đô Limited Company is the importer of the live pigs, which weigh between 90 - 130kg each.

Earlier this month, MARD permitted the import of live pigs from Thailand for farming and slaughter for the first time to counter skyrocketing live hog prices in the domestic market.

According to the ministry’s Department of Animal Health, eight firms are eligible to import with an expected number of more than 1.9 million pigs.

The department said companies exporting live pigs from Thailand to Viet Nam must complete procedures to ensure sanitation and food safety, such as being transported by specialised vehicles and being sanitised and disinfected.

Importers must have isolation facilities and must have their veterinary hygiene conditions checked by the department’s veterinary agencies.

Last month, Việt Nam also imported breeding pigs from Thailand to re-herd and lower the price of pork in the local market. Since the beginning of May, the country has imported 2,000 breeding piglets from Thailand, an increase of more than 300 per cent over the same period in 2019.

Minister Nguyễn Xuân Cường said: “The import is only one immediate solution to lower the hog prices.”

According to local reports, the country's total pig herd reached nearly 24.9 million heads, or 80 per cent of the total herd before African swine fever.

Cường added: "It is forecast that by the end of the third quarter, the supply will basically meet the local consumption demand for pork.”

Currently, live hog prices have decreased to between VNĐ82,000 (US$3.3) and VNĐ90,000 per kg and are expected to decrease more in the near future," said the minister.

Last week, the prices were between VNĐ85,000 and VNĐ94,000 per kilo. Two weeks ago, the prices reached a record high of up to VNĐ103,000 per kilo.

In the first five months of the year, Việt Nam imported about 67,638 tonnes of pork, an increase of 298 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, mainly from Canada, Germany, Poland, Brazil, the US, Spain and Russia. — VNS