The increasing unofficial export of many kinds of food items including poultry eggs, pigs, sugar and coconuts to China has pushed their prices up in the domestic market.

The price of poultry eggs in HCM City markets has risen significantly, with salted duck eggs now costing 5,000 VND (0.24 USD) each, compared to 3,500 VND earlier.

Furthermore, traders are finding it difficult to purchase enough eggs despite offering higher prices, reports the Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper.

According to the two biggest egg suppliers for the HCM City market, Ba Huan and Vinh Thanh Dat companies, the quantity of eggs they have been able to buy from the Mekong Delta market has decreased by 30-40 percent recently.

"Prices have increased strongly, but we don't have enough eggs to buy," said Truong Chi Thien, director of Vinh Thanh Dat Co Ltd.

Industry insiders say some businesses in Vinh Long province and Can Tho city have collected large quantities of fresh eggs to make salted duck eggs for export to China .

The Animal Health Centre in the region, which issues quarantine certificates, also affirmed that the export of salted duck eggs to China by enterprises in Vinh Long and Can Tho provinces has increased remarkably in recent time.

Ba Huan, director of Ba Huan Company, said with the Autumn Festival approaching both in China and Vietnam , there is a huge demand for salted duck eggs – an important ingredient in the moon cake that is a festival specialty.

She also said many Chinese businesses have come to Vietnam and begun competing with local companies in buying eggs.

After a brief lull lasting several months, Chinese traders have also resumed in recent weeks buying pigs from Vietnam , especially those weighing between 80-120 kilos each, pushing pork prices up in the domestic market.

Two other commodities whose prices have risen as a result of increased export to China are coconuts and sugar.

Coconut prices went up from 110,000 VND per dozen earlier this year to 165,000 VND.

Some traders who specialise in collecting coconuts to supply to confectioneries said volumes brought into HCM City had reduced sharply because of exports to China .

Hoang Thi Tam Ai, owner of the Tri Duc Food Processing Company, said coconut prices have increased strongly and it has become hard to purchase them, so many companies had reduced the amount of coconut milk in their products and replaced by oil or fat.

Similarly, with a big difference in sugar prices between Vietnam and China , many businesses are buying sugar and transporting them to the border gate for export to China .

Nguyen Thanh Long, Chairman of the Vietnam Sugar Cane and Sugar Association, said a kilo of sugar is sold at about 30,000 VND in China , 10,000-12,000 VND higher than in Vietnam .

Some sugar factories in the northern and central region are selling a large volume of sugar to traders who then export it to China via border trade, he said.

He also said the association will petition the Ministry of Industry and Trade to allow sugar imports in case local prices touch 20,000 VND a kilo./.