|
Feed prices rise despite stockpile
Animal feed prices have seen a sharp increase recently, despite the large volume of feed in stock.
In just one month, animal feed prices have seen three separate spikes that have raised prices 10 to 19 per cent, or VND200,000-500,000 (US$11-27) per tonne over June. Current prices are up to VND7-8 million ($388-444) per tonne.
Domestic feed traders said they couldn’t cut prices yet because they only stopped importing expensive raw materials in May.
"The volume of raw materials harvested in-country has recently increased, so traders have temporarily stopped importing raw materials," said Pham Quang Dieu, director of the Information Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agroinfo).
Another reason why raw material imports are down is that most banks have refused to lend traders US dollars.
At the beginning of May, the price of raw materials, including corn and soybeans, on the world market started to increase due to reduced production, he said.
In India, the price of soybeans increased 48.8 per cent over the beginning of the year. In Peru, the price of fish paste increased by 3 per cent.
Feed traders began seeking ways to cut prices.
"To improve competitiveness, we need to cut the cost of raw materials because they account for 90 per cent of feed prices," said Le Qui Oanh, director of the Agriculture Technology Development Company.
The industry has received support from some banks to lower the price of feed in the near future.
"Techcombank has policies to support import and export companies, especially those trading feed," said Tran Duc Tho, an official from Techcombank.
To avoid risks caused by foreign exchange rates, the bank signed long-term contracts on selling foreign cash with feed companies.
However, the most important factor to solving the problem is developing the domestic supply of raw materials.
"We cannot make a high profit if we import raw materials to produce feed. It is now necessary to develop a source of raw materials within the country," said Tran Xuan Dung, sales manager of the CJVina Agri Company.
The domestic raw materials industry is promising: corn, rice, and cassava production have seen recent increases.
A number of fish paste plants have also been developed in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.
vietnamnews
|
