More than 250 booths promoting new products, technology, equipment and services in livestock production took part in Vietstock 204, Vietnam's premier international feed, livestock and meat industry expo that ended today in Ho Chi Minh City.

Focusing on the restructuring of the animal husbandry sector with a view to enhancing added value and promoting sustainable development, the three-day (October 15 to 17 event drew the participation of many big brand names from various countries, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands.

Opening the event, Hoang Thanh Van, head of the Livestock Husbandry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam, said the expo provided a good opportunity for domestic and foreign businesses to share experiences and discover new technology in animal husbandry.

Vietstock 2014 also acted as a platform for investors to find investment opportunities in Vietnam's breeding sector, he said.

Within the framework of the event, a conference was held to discuss major issues faced by the sector, such as quality and food safety management, as well the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam's meat processing industry.

Participants in the conference were expected to propose measures for dealing with key challenges, including animal diseases and increasing productivity.

According to the department, in recent years Vietnam 's animal husbandry sector developed rapidly with a larger production scale and better quality products.

Statistics from the department show that the sector's annual average growth reached 6-7% in the last ten years, with 4.33 million tonnes of meat produced in 2013, more than double that of 2000 at 1.83 million tonnes.