Vietnam spends nearly $626mn importing meat products in January-June: gov't agency
Monday, July 10, 2023, 17:09 GMT+7
Vietnam imported meat and meat by-products worth US$626 million in the first half of the year, down four percent year on year, the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told a conference held in Hanoi on Monday.
The country mainly imported pork, chicken, beef, and frozen buffalo meat during the six-month period.
In May alone, 57,000 metric tons of meat products worth $109 million was imported into Vietnam, up 10 percent in volume, but down 10 percent in value from the year-ago period.
As for pork imports, Vietnam bought 29,000 metric tons of frozen pork worth $74 million in the first five months of the year, down 10 percent in volume and six percent in value year on year.
Russia, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada were among Vietnam’s major pork suppliers during the time frame.
Many foreign meat products are rampantly being sold at cheap prices in the local market.
Specifically, American and Australian beef are on sale on the website of H.N. Import Export Company, located in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 12, at prices ranging from VND50,000 ($2.1) to VND350,000 ($14.9) per kilogram, depending each type.
The company quotes the prices of Indian buffalo meat at VND60,000-140,000 ($2.6-6) a kilogram.
Imported pork sells for VND30,000-200,000 ($1.3-8.5) per kilogram on the website.
Livestock firms were in turmoil in the first half of the year due to higher prices of input materials, unstable prices for live pigs, and diseases, according to the Department of Livestock Production.
Live swine prices remained low in the first quarter of 2023, plaguing farmers. However, the rates trended up in the second quarter.
The price of live pigs is hovering around VND65,000 ($2.8) a kilogram.
However, many small farming households have shut down their farms due to huge losses caused by the soaring prices of input materials.
As of late June, Vietnam had farmed 26 million live hogs, up 2.5 percent year on year.
On the export side, Vietnam’s outbound shipments of meat and meat by-products fetched $68 million in the January-June period, up 39 percent year on year.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
