Remove the bottleneck in exporting livestock products

Chicken farm meets export standards of the Japanese market in Long Thanh District. Photo: B.Nguyen

Closely following the strategic goals of livestock development in the new period of the Prime Minister, Dong Nai focuses on sustainable development of the livestock industry in the direction of modern industry, applying high technology to compete well when entering the international playground.

Exports are not commensurate with the potential

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2021, Vietnam's livestock product export turnover will reach US$440 million. Among the exported meat products, the largest proportion is chicken meat. Export of processed chicken meat in 2021 will reached more than 2.5 thousand tons, increased nearly 36.6% compared to 2020. The opportunity to promote the export of this product is still very large when Vietnam has successfully negotiated the export of processed chicken meat to Japan, Hongkong and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, etc. However, in 2021, Vietnam imported over US$3.4 billion in livestock products, of which the trade deficit reached US$2.96 billion. In terms of value, meat imports are still about 20 times higher than meat exports.

Analyzing the data on livestock production as well as the output and total export value of the livestock industry, it can be seen that the export of meat and livestock products of Vietnam is not commensurate with its potential. Currently, the country's total poultry herd reaches 523 million heads, 28 million pigs, and 12 million grazing cattle. This total meat production not only meets the domestic consumption demand but also needs to expand the export market to limit the difficulty of the supply being larger than the demand due to the sharp decrease in the consumption market caused by the current impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Livestock development strategy for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, based on the viewpoint of promoting the potential and advantages of ecological regions for comprehensive, effective, sustainable and adaptive livestock development associated with the development of value chains. Develop the livestock industry in the direction of industrialization and modernization, and at the same time promote organic and traditional livestock production in the direction of producing high-quality and safe goods. The goal of the above strategy by 2030, domestic livestock production belongs to the group of advanced countries in the region. In which, many specific goals by 2030 are set, such as: industrial husbandry accounts for 70% of the total pig herd; accounting for about 60% of the total chicken flock; The whole country has built at least 20 safe breeding zones at district level.

Developing the export link chain

In addition to focusing on building disease-free breeding facilities and areas, Dong Nai is focusing on building a livestock linkage chain from production to processing and consumption to meet the export market. In which, corporations, businesses, and livestock cooperatives play an important role in building linkages.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province currently has 22 businesses processing food from terrestrial animal meat. On average, these enterprises process and supply to the market about 30,000 tons of finished products each year, equivalent to about 45,000 tons of fresh materials. Processed products are very diverse such as: spring rolls, salted shredded pork, sausages, freezing and smoked meats, etc. Most businesses and establishments of preliminarily processed food have formed a chain. Products follow a closed process from breeding to slaughtering and preserving to processing. Famous corporations and enterprises in investment in preliminary processing and processing include: C.P. Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company (Bien Hoa City) has developed a nationwide system of selling stores; Koyu & Unitex Co., Ltd (Bien Hoa City) is a pioneer in the country in exporting chicken and chicken products to the fastidious market of Japan.

Mr. Le Van Quyet, Director of Long Thanh Phat High-tech Agriculture Cooperative (Long Thanh District) commented that, as one of the leading localities in the country in terms of livestock industry, Dong Nai is an attractive destination for many groups. Unions, enterprises invest in modern meat processing plants, meeting international standards with the ambition of not only entering the domestic market but also reaching out to export. According to Mr. Quyet: "Currently, Long Thanh Phat is the only export chicken cooperative in the country, our products are consumed by local businesses for processing and exporting to Japan. The export market of processed poultry products is still very potential, and both farmers and businesses are making efforts to participate in order to have more sustainable output for the livestock industry.

Le Quyen