A couple view the skyline of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
HO CHI MINH CITY: After the long Tet holiday, sales of meat and eggs in Ho Chi Minh City are falling due to limited demand and changes in consumer diets for the vegetarian month.
Many carts on the streets in Ho Chi Minh City are currently selling poultry eggs at very low prices, only 15,000 to 20,000 dong per 10 eggs. Markets and supermarkets are also selling eggs at much lower prices compared to before Tet.
Vuong Quang Dung, director of Vuong Huynh Produce Commerce and Services Co Ltd, which farms egg-laying chickens in Dong Nai Province, said that about a month before Tet, chicken eggs were priced at 1,900 dong per egg, but then have gradually decreased to 1,300 to 1,500 dong.
The decrease in poultry egg prices is due to bakeries switching from using fresh eggs to egg powder.
Additionally, early Tet holidays for factory workers and extended school closures have led to a significant decline in demand, as cafeterias for workers and students are big buyers of eggs and meat.
The remaining egg stock from before Tet has not been fully consumed, so it will take another one to two weeks for egg prices to recover.
According to egg-laying chicken farms in the southern region, at the current price level, farmers are facing losses of about 200 dong per egg.
Pham Thi Huan, chairwoman of the board of directors of Ba Huan Joint Stock Co, said that poultry egg supply after Tet was very abundant.
Truong Chi Thien, chief executive officer of Vinh Thành Đat Food Joint Stock Company (V.Food), said that egg consumption was normally low in the first month of the lunar year, so V.Food was focusing more on processing egg products.
Not only poultry eggs, but demand for pork is also declining.
Nguyen Tri Cong, chairman of the Dong Nai Livestock Association, noted a slight increase in pork prices, but demand had decreased by about 30% year-on-year.
According to the sales department of the Hoc Mon Wholesale Market, the amount of pork entering the market on Feb 20 reached 337 tonnes (approximately 4,500 pigs), which was less than the average daily amount in 2023, which was 5,700 pigs.
However, compared to the first working day after Tet (Feb 15), with 2,180 pigs, the amount of pigs entering the market was recovering.
Regarding chicken, Nguyen Van Ngoc, vice-chairman of the South-East Poultry Association, said that demand was low because this was the vegetarian month (lunar January) and also many workers had not returned to work.
This had kept industrial chicken prices at low levels, ranging from 26,000 to 27,000 dong per kg.
This has caused farmers to lose from 4,000 to 5,000 dong per kg.
Farmers had reduced their flocks by about 50% due to prolonged losses, but they still could not push prices up. Ngoc said the main reason was the competition from cheap imported chicken and organs.
On the other hand, the vegetarian food market was bustling because lunar January is the time when people’s demand for vegetarian food is highest in the year.
After a Tet holiday full of meat and fat, people seek more balanced and light meals.
Tran Cong Phuong Linh, director of Saigon Vegetarian Food Co Ltd, said that the company’s production has increased two to three times compared to normal due to many supermarkets and stores placing large orders.
The Co.opmart supermarket chain has also launched promotional programmes with a variety of vegetarian products, including spices and processed foods.
Buddhism is widely considered the national religion in Vietnam, with over 60% of the population practising some form of it.
As a result, it is not surprising that vegetarian cuisine is highly popular in the country. — Viet Nam News/ANN
