Many challenges for the poultry industry

​Currently, the poultry industry is facing many difficulties and challenges when the selling price of livestock products is much lower than the production cost for many months.

The reason is that the total number of poultry is large, input material is high while consumption limited. Domestic meat is inferior in competition with imported meat in the home field.

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A chicken farm at Long Duc commune, Long Thanh district.(Photo: Phan Anh)

Falling into crisis

 Every year, the holiday of April 30 is often an opportunity to promote the consumption of poultry products such as free-range chickens, duck meat... But this year's holiday, the price of poultry almost does not fluctuate due to consumption market was slower than the same periods previous years. Particularly, industrial chicken products continue to have a new price reduction; the selling price at the farm is only about 25,000 VND/kg, about 4,000 VND/kg lower than the production cost.

 From businesses to farms, poultry farmers are forced to reduce their production scale, even go bankrupt because for many months, poultry products have continuously sold below production costs. This is a difficult period for the poultry industry after years of high growth. According to the report of the Department of Livestock Production, Vietnam is one of the countries with the largest total poultry herd in the world. In the period from 2018 to 2022, the total poultry herd of Vietnam increased rapidly from nearly 436 million heads to more than 557 million heads; the average growth rate was 6.3% per year.

 Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Chairman of the Vietnam Poultry Breeding Association pointed out that the market for poultry products is very precarious. At many farms, industrial broilers and colored chickens have to be raised for more than days, then growing as laying hens. Many businesses and livestock farms are in danger of bankruptcy, thousands of livestock establishments have to reduce their production scales, or even have to suspend operation.

 Looking forward to support

 The "hot" issue pressing for farmers is the situation that the domestic poultry market is falling into redundant, price falling but still allowing the rampant import. In which, there is a reason that the control of imported meat of our country is still easy and loose, but we have to face many strict technical barriers of other countries when exporting.

 According to the data of the Vietnam Poultry Breeding Association, in the last 5 years, the annual volume of imported chicken meat has increased continuously by more than 15% per year, accounting for 20-25% of the total chicken meat consumed in the country. In addition to official imported chicken products, a large volume of discarded laying hens is imported through unofficial channels or even smuggled across borders, estimated at 200-250 thousand tons per year.

 According to a report of the Vietnam Poultry Association, in recent years, the poultry industry, especially chicken farming has grown too hot. Many large-scale livestock investment projects are licensed for investment without being attached to the export plan, while imported frozen chicken meat is constantly increasing every year, leading to oversupply putting a great pressure on the domestic consumption market. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to check and review the poultry development strategy in the medium and long term, the development orientation needs to harmonize the development of quantity and quality. Ministries, sectors and localities need to carefully consider new investment projects.

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A duck farm at Xuan Dinh commune, Xuan Loc district. (Photo: Phan Anh)

Regarding immediate support, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son suggested: “The Government and the National Assembly consider adjusting the support level to a higher level for agricultural enterprises. Specifically, enterprises in the agricultural production sector entitled to a reduction of 35-40% of the support level, and enterprises producing livestock, animal feed and veterinary drugs entitled to a reduction of 45-50% of enterprise income tax so that enterprises have capital to maintain production".

 Particularly in Dong Nai, farmers face even more difficulties when the province is implementing a plan to relocate more than 3,000 livestock establishments outside the planning as well as inspecting the observance of the law on environmental protection at livestock establishments. Mr. Le Van Quyet, Director of Long Thanh Phat High-Tech Agriculture Cooperative (Long Thanh district) worried: “I have a farm that must to be relocated. I hope the Provincial People's Committee should organize a review, if livestock establishments cause environmental pollution, they must be stopped or relocated immediately, but if they do not cause environmental pollution, the implementation schedule should be extended."​