Vietnam’s import of chicken markedly outnumbered its export volume, according to figures given by the southern branch of the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Southeast Asian nation spent around US$237 million importing approximately 211,000 metric tons of chicken in January-October, Do Huu Phuong, head of the agency, announced at an online seminar on Thursday.

White-feathered chickens had the most complicated price fluctuations, according to Phuong.

The average price of white-feathered broilers during the ten-month period was VND31,800 ($1.35) per kilogram, which, compared to the production cost, means that farmers suffered a loss of more than VND1,000 per kilogram.

Similarly, farmers lost about VND1,800 for each kilogram of other broilers.

On the other hand, Vietnam exported only 1,000 metric tons of chicken, earning about $2.2 million during the same time length.

This shows that the country’s volume of imported chicken is 211 times higher than the export amount.

Given the massive import-export imbalance, Phuong suggested that it is necessary to reduce the import of frozen poultry meat in the immediate future.

At the same time, he advised businesses to limit imports when the domestic supply is abundant.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Tri Cong, chairman of the Livestock Association of Dong Nai, a province with leading livestock production in Vietnam, said that the country’s poultry industry is dealing with three main problems.

The first is weak market forecasting, with farmers hardly keeping track of price fluctuations.

The second is shortcomings in food safety control.

The last problem is loan interest.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!