January 15, 2009
Vietnam gov't urges milk companies to help "save" local dairy industry
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has called on milk producers to buy milk from local dairy farmers in order to save the industry.
MARD Livestock Breeding Department director Hoang Kim Giao made this appeal particularly referring to farmers in suburban areas of the capital and Vinh Phuc northern Province who on Saturday (January 10) threw more than 7 tonnes of fresh milk on the road.
The melamine case also resulted to the province's hurling of at least 105 tonnes of milk onto streets since they have no buyers.
According to the department's statistics, the amount of milk consumed in the country has decreased by 20 percent; however, the amount of fresh milk being produced has increased by 30 to 32 per cent.
The Hanoimilk Company said that they could buy only 50 percent of the milk, so about 1 tonne of milk is redundant everyday in Trung Nguyen Commune, said Trinh Dinh Mao, deputy director of the Vinh Phuc Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Nguyen Nhu Tam, owner of a big milk supplier to the Hanoimilk Company in Yen Lac District in the province, said that since the start of January, they have to throw away more than 15 tonnes of milk because they could not sell them.
His son-in-law, Tran Van Dung, last Saturday poured away 4.5 tonnes of milk, worth VND40 million (US$2,350).
There are several reasons leading to farmers disposing of their milk, which include the low quality of the milk after transport, according to Giao.
However, the Hanoimilk Company has pledged to buy all the remaining milk in Trung Nguyen Commune, said Mao.
To stabilise the industry, Giao has asked agriculture departments nationwide to properly accumulate produced milk to have accurate measures and create good conditions for milk companies. He also asked breeders to consume milk anyway possible, including milk giving to schools and orphanages.
According to the latest statistics of the Livestock Breeding Department, the country now has 110,000 to 115,000 dairy cows, of which 55,000 are milk producers at a capacity of 680-700 tonnes a day. About 75 to 80 per cent of the dairy cows are in southern provinces.
In the north, dairy cows are mainly raised in Ha Noi, Son La, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Tuyen Quang and Hung Yen.
