Recently, however, the local market has been struggling with an oversupply of pork, causing prices to plummet from roughly 40,000 dong ($1.76) per kilogram to as low as 20,000 dong, the lowest figure in a decade, local media reports indicated. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Last week, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, rushed to a Samsung Electronics plant in Bac Ninh requesting that the South Korean company boost its purchases of pork amid a supply glut that has been destabilizing the local market.
Cuong has become anxious over plummeting pork prices, and asked that the company – Vietnam’s biggest exporter with one-fifth of its total shipments – to help stabilize the market with higher pork consumption, said a Samsung official.
Samsung Electronics currently operates mobile phone factories in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces with some 100,000 employees consuming 100 pigs daily. Following the government’s request, the tech giant is considering introducing more pork dishes for its local staff.
Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest producers of pigs and pork. Recently, however, the local market has been struggling with an oversupply of pork, causing prices to plummet from roughly 40,000 dong ($1.76) per kilogram to as low as 20,000 dong, the lowest figure in a decade, local media reports indicated.
The crisis is largely attributed to China, the biggest buyer of Vietnamese pork, halting its imports from the Southeast Asian country last November, citing quality concerns. With massive losses being suffered by local farmers, the Vietnamese government has been trying to alleviate the situation on all fronts, including encouraging businesses like Samsung to increase pork consumption.
Meanwhile, there are also skeptical views towards local distributors potentially profiting from the crisis, given that retail prices of pork remain almost unaffected, sources said.
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
