HCMC – Domestic animal feed prices have surged 20-30%, equivalent to VND2,000-2,500 per kilogram, since the beginning of this year, causing huge losses for livestock farmers, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
Early this month, many animal feed producers announced an increase of VND200-500 per kilogram in animal feed prices.
The animal feed prices of VinaFeed, Guyomarc’h-VCN, ABC Vietnam and Cargill rose by VND300 per kilogram, VND300-400 per kilogram, VND330 per kilogram and VND250-500 per kilogram, respectively. On May 5, C.P Vietnam also raised the prices of its animal feed products by VND400-700 per kilogram.
This is the seventh increase in animal feed prices since the beginning of this year. In the price rise announcements sent to their customers, animal feed producers attributed the hike to the soaring prices of raw materials for animal feed production. Besides, disruptions in the supply chain and the longer shipping time caused by the Covid-19 pandemic also contributed to the rise.
As animal feed accounts for 65-70% of the production cost for livestock farmers, the price hike has caused huge losses for farmers.
The owner of a chicken farm said last year, chicken prices dropped to VND15,000 per kilogram. Chicken prices have inched up since early this year but they cannot keep up with the hike in the animal feed prices. Chicken prices are currently ranging between VND19,000 and VND25,000 per kilogram, while production cost is estimated at VND27,000 per kilogram, causing losses of VND2,000-VND8,000 per kilogram for farmers.
Nguyen Van Ngoc, vice chairman of the Southeastern Livestock Association, said many farmers have withdrawn from the livestock industry due to losses.
Phan Hoa Binh, a farmer with over 20 years of experience in raising chickens in the southern province of Dong Nai, said he has closed all of his chicken farms due to mounting losses.
“I plan to lease my facilities to foreign companies. Only foreign invested companies with huge capital are able to survive in this industry,” he said.
According to the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam produced 20.3 million tons of animal feed last year, including 8.9 million tons for pigs (43.8%), 10.7 million tons for poultry (53.7%) and 0.6 million tons for other animals.
The department predicted that animal feed prices will continue to edge up 5-10% in the second quarter of 2021.
