April 5, 2011

Vietnam loses 68,000 pigs and cattle in Q1

Vietnam lost 68,000 heads of pigs and cattle from natural disasters and diseases in the first quarter of this year, stated the country's General Statistics Office (GSO).

Sixty-five thousand cows and buffalos died from cold spell and food shortage when farmers in the northern mountainous areas leave animals to wander freely in forest.

Foot-and-mouth and blue diseases, which occur widely in the country, affected 3,000 cattle and pigs during the period, the GSO said.

There is a decreasing trend in the first quarter of this year, with a 1% reduction in the number of cattle, while the number of pigs decreased by between 0.5% and 1%.

Vietnam has 27.3 million pigs, 5.9 million cattle, 2.9 million buffalos, 1.2 million goats and over 30 million of poultries. The country's livestock breeding accounts for 27-28% of the agricultural sector's output.