January 7, 2009

Vietnam's poultry meat imports in the last two months of 2008 have decreased sharply due to the tax increase, reports the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

According to MARD deputy director Nguyen Thanh Son, frozen poultry meat imports were down to 1,700 tonnes in November and less than 2,000 tonnes in December 2008.

From January to August, importers purchased 108,401 tonnes of meat, or 13,500 tonnes a month. Imports in the last four months were 5,363 tonnes or 1,343 tonnes a month. Of the chicken imports, the by-products (legs, wings) accounted for nearly 80 percent.

Import taxes on fresh and frozen poultry have been raised to 20 percent on October 12, 2008, and to 40 percent on whole poultry.

Son said weakened purchasing power has also clipped demand for poultry meat and this trend will continue this year.

Meat price hike and lower feed prices have encouraged farmers to increase production. Local output has increased by 6 percent and 10 percent in inventories.

According to Agro Infor, the information centre under the MARD, chicken prices in Hanoi last week saw a further increase of VND 2,500 (US$0.14) per kilo. Ready-made chicken were sold at VND 42,500/kg (US$2.44) (industrial-raised fowls) and VND 82,500/kg (US$4.74) (Vietnam-bred chicken). In Ho Chi Minh City, the chicken prices went up by VND 7,000-10,000/kg in the last week.

Deputy Minister of the MARD Diep Kinh Tan on Monday warned farmers on the deadly  H5N1 virus outbreak as cold weather hovers in the north.

US$1 = VND17,405 (as of January 7)