Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam’s poultry producers have a big opportunity to exporttheir products thanks to high supply levels, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Nguyen Thanh Son, chairman of the Vietnam Poultry Association, said Vietnam’ssigning of several free trade agreements has created chances for local firms toapproach new markets with great potential.

To compete in export markets, Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting director of the MARD'sAgro Processing and Market Development Agency, said local enterprises shouldidentify target markets and consumer tastes of potential import countries toensure they introduce products that meet demand. For instance, firms shouldboost exports of chicken breast because the product is favoured by consumers inexport markets, while chicken thighs and wings are popular in the domesticmarket.

Target markets of Vietnamese firms for chicken meat exports include Japan,China and the Philippines. Potential markets include Saudi Arabia, South Africaand the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Toan. Meanwhile, firms shouldfocus on exporting poultry eggs to traditional markets in Northeast andSoutheast Asia.

Despite plentiful supply and high import demand, exporting poultry products isnot easy because of technical barriers and strict food safety and hygienecontrols in import countries, Pham Van Dong, Head of the Department of AnimalHealth told Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper.

He said the ministry has spent two years negotiating with Japanese authoritiesabout exporting Vietnamese chicken meat to Japan. At present, although theyhave received approval from Japanese authorities, each batch of poultryproducts from Vietnam has to be kept at a Japanese veterinary agency to checkfor pathogens and antibiotic residues.

Therefore, if firms want to promote exports, they must invest in closed-loopproduction or apply modern processing technology, he said. In addition, theyshould strictly control diseases and avoid the use of antibiotics and banned substancesin farming. If there is an outbreak of a disease, export of poultry productscould be halted and firms would lose market share, he said.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, acting director general of the MARD's Husbandry Department,said that in order to have safe and modern livestock production, the industryshould gradually reduce small-scale animal husbandry facilities and increaselarge livestock farms.

The ministry should encourage building VietGAP breeding facilities to establishsafe farms and create favourable conditions for the local husbandry industry tomove towards international integration and exporting poultry products, he said.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has proposedthe State create favourable conditions for enterprises that export poultryproducts to expand production and receive quality certificates. These stepswould help the enterprises approach demanding markets around the world.

Duong said poultry farming has recently seen a shift from small-scale farming tointensive farming. Productivity and profits are both increasing, turningpoultry farming from a secondary occupation into a main job in agriculturalproduction in some places.

In recent years, the number of poultry has increased by an average of more than6 percent annually. By 2018, output exceeded 1.1 million tonnes of poultry meatand 11 billion eggs.

At present, farmers across the country are raising around 409 million poultryanimals, of which chickens account for 77.5 percent.

Cities and provinces that have shown strong development in poultry productioninclude Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

There are currently two main models of farming: intensive farming andhousehold-farming. Intensive farming has been developing rapidly with10,000-12,000 farms, mainly in the Red River Delta, the Southeast region andthe Mekong Delta.

For decades, the domestic husbandry industry has produced poultry productsmainly for the local market, according to the ministry. However, as supply hasincreased, the industry has begun to consider export markets.

In the past three years, some firms have started exporting poultry products toother countries. Export value of poultry products has shown rapid growth.Poultry exports exceeded 3 million USD in 2016, climbed to 5.6 million USD in2017 and reached more than 18 million USD in 2018.

Poultry products produced in Vietnam include fresh duck eggs, salted duck eggs,processed chicken meat, canned quail eggs, egg powder and braised black-bonesilky chickens.

Every year, the country exports between 1.25 million and 1.5 million breedingpoultry and around 10-15 million salted duck eggs. Export of chicken meatstarted in September 2017 and reached nearly 8,000 tonnes of processed chickenmeat in 2018.-VNS/VNA