April 10, 2009

Vietnam's import tax hikes have sharply reduced the amount of imported meat and poultry, but prices have also increased due to low supply, the Agricultural Information Centre said Wednesday (Apr 8).

The centre said total imports of meat and poultry declined 21-24 percent compared to the period before the tax hike.

Last October, the Ministry of Finance increased import duties on meat and poultry by two percent to curb an influx of imported meat. Then in March this year, the Ministry raised import tax on frozen pork and meat from 24 percent to 28 percent, and tax on frozen and fresh beef was hiked from 17 percent to 33 percent. Imported frozen by-products of pig, cow, and other meats were also levied from 10 percent to 15 percent.

But pork prices have been pushed to its highest level over the past 40 years, said Le Ba Lich, chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association.

Pork prices are VND42,000 to VND45,000 per kg in southern region and VND40,000 to VND41,000 in northern region. Lich said at these prices, pigs in Vietnam are selling at a level higher than any countries in ASEAN.

Industry experts said Vietnam now imports pork mostly from the US and Canada at around US$1 per kg, with the meat selling for VND45,000 to VND60,000 per kg in the country.

US$1 = VND17,996 (Apr 10)