Vietnam meat imports fall sharply, but sufficient for Lunar New Year

The volume of imported meat to Ho Chi Minh City has fallen 70% since late 2009 as the city authorities tighten control over food safety and hygiene.

Nguyen Xuan Binh head of Animal Health Center of Region VI said that ports in the city receive only 4-5 containers of meat, or 100 tonnes daily.

Binh added that the city issued regulations tightening management over imported frozen meat after finding a number of containers of meat under qualified.

According to reports, the city's department of industry and trade pledged enough meat for the upcoming Lunar New Year thanks to rich supply from domestic farms. The department said the city is keeping 7,300 tonnes of pork, and 2,500 tonnes of chicken for the Tet festival, up from 6,000 tonnes and 1,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Big meat suppliers like Vissan and Phu An Sinh said that they have prepared a large quantity of meat for this Tet and promised to sell the meat for reasonable prices. Phu An Sinh said that it is keeping 1,200 pigs and will import 1,000 pigs while Vissan is ready to offer 3,500 tonnes of pork.

The department forecast that pork and chicken meat prices will be stable but beef prices will sharply rise.