Discussing socio-economic issues on the afternoon of June 13, National Assembly delegates continued to express concern when prices of many essential goods, especially pork prices, spiked during the epidemic, affecting people’s lives.
Explaining to the National Assembly, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the price increase was due to the lack of supply and demand for pork.
African swine fever broke out in mid-2019, causing 31 countries with infected pigs. The world’s total pig herd decreased by 12% by the end of 2019, with China alone decreasing by 53%, leading to a global pork crisis.
To reduce pork prices, he mentioned three solutions: accelerating herd regeneration, diversifying the food basket beyond pork, and reviewing the situation of pushing up pork prices at the traders and distribution stage.
`We should not only focus on eating pork, but need to diversify other foods when the price of this item is too high, such as chicken, fish, shrimp, eggs… Eating these foods is also very good.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Cuong – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Mr. Cuong said, it will not be until the end of 2020 that the number of pigs will return to the level before the African swine fever epidemic, about 31 million.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked 15 large livestock enterprises to sell breeds to breeders and requested localities to support prices to ease difficulties.
Disagreeing with the solution to reduce pork prices that Minister Cuong mentioned, delegate Thai Truong Giang (Ca Mau delegation) debated.
Currently, livestock farming households work for large livestock enterprises, and they only collect a wage of 4,000 VND per kg of pork.
Also holding up the debate sign, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Xuan (Can Tho) commented that the solution that Minister Cuong proposed was only immediate.
In addition to pork, Mr. Giang also asked the Government to review solutions and regulate the prices of some other products such as gasoline.
