The domestic livestock industry is likely to lose out to regional rivalsin the coming years unless a proper development strategy is drawn up toincrease its competitiveness.
According to Radio theVoice of Vietnam (VOV) website, Vietnam has joined the ASEAN FreeTrade Agreement (AFTA) which regulates that its domestic pork, chickensand eggs will no longer enjoy tax protection and subsidies by 2015.
This means that similar products from Thailand, Indonesia andMalaysia will face no barriers on the way to Vietnam.
Pham Duc Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association,said the Vietnamese livestock industry falls behind regional rivals interms of scale, productivity, prices and quality.
Once the subsidy policy is removed, it will put farmers and businesses at a distinct disadvantage, he said.
Thailand, for example, he said, has a comprehensive investmentstrategy for the sector and its businesses manage and produce feed,additives and minerals for their animals by themselves, rather thandepending totally on imports like Vietnam.
Inaddition, they have advantages, such as access to low interest loans andno value added tax (VAT) on livestock feed, that help keep their pricesat least 15-20 percent lower than those of Vietnamese breeders.
Suffering from long term losses, many foreign businesses are reducing the number of chickens they breed in Vietnam.
Nguyen Dang Vang, Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Breeding Association,said in 2011, CP, Emivest and Japfa raised more than 120 millionchickens, but a year later they cut that number to only 70 million.
Nearly half of the poultry farms in northern provinces have ceasedoperating and large numbers in the south are in the same situation.
Aside from AFTA competition, Vietnam ’s livestock industry is alsounder tremendous pressure from the EU, the US and Brazil .
Over the past three or four years, hundreds of thousands tonnes ofmeat at considerably cheaper prices have been imported into the countryannually.
In the first four months of 2013, about5,000-7,000 tonnes of chickens were shipped into Vietnam everymonth, equal to half of the total domestic breeding production.
To save costs, many businesses even use frozen pork from the US toproduce hotdogs, canned meat and Chinese sausages instead of purchasingdomestic pork.-VNA
According to Radio theVoice of Vietnam (VOV) website, Vietnam has joined the ASEAN FreeTrade Agreement (AFTA) which regulates that its domestic pork, chickensand eggs will no longer enjoy tax protection and subsidies by 2015.
This means that similar products from Thailand, Indonesia andMalaysia will face no barriers on the way to Vietnam.
Pham Duc Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association,said the Vietnamese livestock industry falls behind regional rivals interms of scale, productivity, prices and quality.
Once the subsidy policy is removed, it will put farmers and businesses at a distinct disadvantage, he said.
Thailand, for example, he said, has a comprehensive investmentstrategy for the sector and its businesses manage and produce feed,additives and minerals for their animals by themselves, rather thandepending totally on imports like Vietnam.
Inaddition, they have advantages, such as access to low interest loans andno value added tax (VAT) on livestock feed, that help keep their pricesat least 15-20 percent lower than those of Vietnamese breeders.
Suffering from long term losses, many foreign businesses are reducing the number of chickens they breed in Vietnam.
Nguyen Dang Vang, Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Breeding Association,said in 2011, CP, Emivest and Japfa raised more than 120 millionchickens, but a year later they cut that number to only 70 million.
Nearly half of the poultry farms in northern provinces have ceasedoperating and large numbers in the south are in the same situation.
Aside from AFTA competition, Vietnam ’s livestock industry is alsounder tremendous pressure from the EU, the US and Brazil .
Over the past three or four years, hundreds of thousands tonnes ofmeat at considerably cheaper prices have been imported into the countryannually.
In the first four months of 2013, about5,000-7,000 tonnes of chickens were shipped into Vietnam everymonth, equal to half of the total domestic breeding production.
To save costs, many businesses even use frozen pork from the US toproduce hotdogs, canned meat and Chinese sausages instead of purchasingdomestic pork.-VNA
