May 28, 2004

 

 

Vietnamese Poultry Farmers Face Higher Costs Post-Bird Flu Outbreak
 

With the bird flu outbreak subsided in Vietnam, many poultry farmers in the north are back in business and they are looking at even higher demands.

 

But they are facing a different problem as the price of food for their birds has gone up sharply - leading to higher costs of running the farms.

 

The Thuy Phuong Poultry Breeding Research Centre in Hanoi is one of the few certified suppliers of feeds after the bird flu epidemic.

 

And for over a month now, the amount it has sold has risen several times more than the same period last year.

 

In fact, the centre says it is operating at its highest capacity to cater for the higher number of new chicks hatched, now that the bird flu outbreak is over.

 

"About three months after the bird flu epidemic, when detoxification has been carefully carried out and the poultry industry is back to normal, the demand for chicks will certainly be much higher," revealed Hoang Van Luc, Thuy Phuong Poultry Research Centre.

 

"This sharp increase is expected to take place in the third quarter."

 

For chicken farmer Ha Duc Dong's family, that increase in demand alone is just not enough to make ends meet.

 

During the outbreak, they had to cull 3,600 chickens and lost close to US$7,000.

 

Already with a smaller capital, the higher cost of feeds is just not helping.

 

"Chicks are now sold at 4,000 dong (US$0.26) each, that's nearly three times higher than before. The price of feed has also increased by 15,000 dong (US$0.97) per bag," Mr Dong said.

 

"We have to borrow money from the black market at a high interest rate as we're not allowed to borrow from the banks."

 

To help farmers like Mr Dong, the government has instructed banks to reschedule the farmers' debts.

 

This move means prices will continue to soar, especially when the demand for poultry feeds is expected to go up until early next year.

 

Authorities say, without such intervention, the farmers just will not be able to pay off their current debts.

 

The government has also decided to grant farmers US$0.30 for every chicken that was culled.