The animal husbandry sector hopes to enhance exports of animal products to many markets this year. (Source: VNA)HCMCity (VNA) - The Department of Livestock Production under theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development will make intensive efforts toboost exports of animal products this year.
The livestock sector has enjoyed annual average growth of 5-6 percent for thelast two decades.
Meat production has more than tripled since 2005 from 1.6 million to 5.3million tonnes, egg production has almost quadrupled and milk output hasincreased 18.6 times, it said.
Nguyen Xuan Duong, the department’s acting director, said, for the first timein the history, Vietnam exported chicken to Japan in 2017, and last year markedthe beginning of pork exports to Myanmar.
“Though the export value is not high yet, these have greatly improved Vietnam’scommercial reputation. These milestones are good proof of the efficiency ofauthorities, capabilities of the livestock enterprises and the quality andsafety of Vietnamese livestock products, which will make their way further intodeveloped markets.”
To enhance exports, the sector needs to improve productivity, quality, cutproduction costs and ensure hygiene and food safety, he said.
To reduce production costs and increase productivity, besides choosinghigh-quality strains, “We need to restructure the sector with production basedon linkage chains,” he said.
Enhancing linkages between businesses, cooperatives, business groups and smallfarmers and breeders is very important for developing the sector in a sustainablemanner in terms of efficiency, food safety, environment, and exports, he said.
In addition, with animal feed accounting for 70 percent of costs, reducing feedprices is very important to cut costs and improve the competitiveness ofVietnamese livestock products, he said.
The Government has cut tariffs on imported raw materials for animal feed, andproducers should cut costs to reduce feed prices, he said.
Last year many large enterprises such as Masan, CP, Dabaco, and Ba Huan haveinvested in meat processing facilities, experts said.
Masan opened a 1 trillion VND (over 43 million USD) meat processing complex inHa Nam province.
The 10ha complex can process 140,000 tonnes of pork a year and uses Danishtechnology.
Most large companies have invested in all stages from breeding to processing,and the investment made by these firms is important and contributes to thedevelopment of the industry, they added.-VNA
VNA
