The official dispatch said that the African swine fever in Vietnam has gradually been controlled. The number of communes hit by the epidemic as well as the number of pigs being destroyed has sharply declined from June to now. Meanwhile, in neighboring countries, the African swine fever is happening seriously and developing complicatedly. Therefore, there is high risk that infectious pathogens from foreign countries enter Vietnam if measures to control transportation of pigs and pork products through the border are not carried out strictly.
In order to prevent the African swine fever and other diseases from recurring and to control the epidemic soon, the National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Control of African Swine Fever asked the National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Counterfeit Goods (National Steering Committee No.389) and the People’s Committee of centrally-controlled cities and provinces to instruct relevant departments to implement drastically and synchronously measures to control transportation of pigs and pork products. It also asked the National Steering Committee No.389 to direct and urge the steering committee No.389 of border provinces to prevent, timely detect and strictly punish cases of smuggling, illegal transportation and trafficking of animals and products from animals, especially pigs and pork products in and out of Vietnam.
In related news, the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City on October 18 held a press conference on preparation of goods for the upcoming lunar New Year. As for meat supply for the festive season, the city ordered distribution channels and suppliers to increase their stockpiles in order to ensure pork supply for the market. The demand for pork is expected to strongly increase as of the 25th of the 12th month in the lunar calendar.
Vissan said that it will store 360 tons of pork within 45 days. Meanwhile, Satra made a back-up plan in which it will slaughter its pigs early. In addition, distribution channels were also suggested to actively stockpile poultry meat so as to meet the diverse needs of consumers.
Unfortunately, the problem is that the current price of pigs has risen to VND58,500 per kilogram and tends to climb higher in the future, by around 8.5 percent compared to the current price level. Therefore, the Department of Finance has been collaborating with other departments to make plans to stabilize the price of pork during the festive season.
