Meat prices, especially in relation to pork, have been declining on the domestic market, according to the Livestock Breeding Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to official sources, the wholesale price for pork fell 24 per cent to VND53,000 per kilo in Ha Noi, to VND45,000 per kilo in Central Highland Dak Lak province and to VND50,000 per kilo in HCM City, said Nguyen Thanh Son, department deputy director.

A drop in pork wholesale prices had also pulled down prices related to other types of meat, he explained, saying that the price of chicken had fallen 40 per cent to VND24,000 per kilo.

Previous high prices encouraged farmers to develop their poultry and cattle herds, increasing the supply of meat to bring down prices, Mr Son added.

In the first nine months of this year, poultry production grew by 16.8 per cent in terms of meat volume and 19 per cent in relation to egg numbers.

Output surged by 2.6 per cent for pork, 4.9 per cent for beef, 9.3 per cent for buffalo meat and 5.4 per cent for milk over the same period, Son said.

An increasing meat import volume during recent months added to the domestic market, reducing prices further, he added.

The increase in domestic supply also occurred due to the premature selling of poultry and cattle to avoid floods in central and the southern areas, he noted.

However, the drop was temporary and under market rules, the reduction in meat wholesale prices was expected to subside because of demand increasing by 15 to 20 per cent over the holiday period.

Meanwhile, housewives have commented that retail prices of meat had remained relatively unchanged.

"Meat prices haven't dropped by much if at all to be honest," said Le Ngoc Minh, a housewife from Dong Da District, Ha Noi.

"The retail price for pork has kept steady at VND100,000-120,000 per kilo on average while chicken cost VND60,000-80,000 per kilo and beef VND200,000-220,000 per kilo," she added.

"Although local newspapers have reported price drops, customers have continued buying meat at similar prices as before, with farmers still making little profit from breeding poultry and cattle," she explained.

Tran Thu An, a housewife from HCM City, said that retail prices for pork were still between VND95,000-115,000 per kilo.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, a chicken trader at Bac Ninh Market in Thu Duc District, HCM City, said that retail prices for chicken were VND55,000-60,000 per kilo, each kilo bringing in VND7,000-10,000 in profit.

"The state should control the market more strictly in order to push down high prices related to essential goods, ensuring farmers are able to profit," Mrs Minh noted.

The department expected the supply of meat to satisfy domestic demand by the end of this year with the husbandry industry producing 175,000 tonnes of pork, 52,000-55,000 tonnes of chicken and 13,000 tonnes of other types of meat per month.

To reach such a target, the department suggested that the state provide farmers with incentives to recover production, including loans with soft interest rates and reduced import taxes for animal feed.