Imports of animal feed and raw materials required to make animal feed were worth around US$200 million last month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

The total value of such imports in the first quarter rose to US$613 million, 133% higher than in the same period last year. Phan Hong Lien of the Hanoi-based Vietnam Market Forecast and Analysis Joint Stock Company said the animal feed industry imported most of its input needs.

 

Dry soy cake and fishmeal have the highest import rates, with the industry importing up to 90 per cent of its needs, followed by corn and various kinds of mash.

 

Last year, the country spent more than US$2.1 billion on importing animal feed and inputs, including more than US$1.5 billion on dry soy cake, corn, and fishmeal, items that can be produced in the country.

 

Le Ba Lich, chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association, said that the country still depended on imports because there was no investment strategy for producing them at home.

 

"There are no detailed zoning plans by the government for developing the animal feed inputs industry. No animal feed company has set up its own raw material-producing zones," Bien said.

 

The country has around 1 million hectares under corn with a total annual output of 4 million tonnes. Of this, 500,000-800,000 tonnes are used for food and production of ethanol and 1 million for backyard animals, leaving around 2.2 million tonnes for the animal feed industry.

 

Thus, 800,000 to 1.1 million tonnes of corn have to be imported every year for making animal feed. The country has only around 250,000 hectares under soy and produces 300,000 tonnes a year.

 

Hoang Kim Giao, head of the ministry's Animal Husbandry Department, said due to the rapid development of the animal husbandry sector in recent years, demand for animal feed had been growing at 15-17% annually, and supply of inputs had not kept pace with this rate.

 

By 2020, demand for animal feed was expected to rise to around 15 million tonnes, Hoang said, adding 50% of the inputs would have to be imported then.