October 21, 2014

Vietnam's Red Star Company will soon begin processing its first shipment of Australian cattle which it had been fattening since July 2014, ABC Rural reports.

The integrated farming system includes a feedlot, abattoir and 1,500 hectares of nearby farmland to cultivate feed for cattle.

Dean Ryan, from exporting company, South East Asian Livestock Services (SEALS), is optimistic of a strong supply chain. SEALS helps to deliver Red Star's first Australian cattle shipment which was unloaded at a nearby port in Nha Trang.

"(Red Star) had a lot of advice from Australian consultants and from other parts of the world on building a very sophisticated feedlot. Their idea is a (slightly) different to other Vietnamese importers who usually bring in cattle and slaughter them straight away", Ryan comments, noting that the company goes for a staged process in meat production. "I'm hoping this year that they'll import up to 6,000 head, but in the long run, they've got visions of doing much larger numbers than that."

Vietnam is currently a major customer for Australian cattle and has imported a record 131,000 head of cattle during the financial year of 2013/14.