May 24, 2011

Vietnam imports of frozen meat on the rise

Frozen meat imports arriving at Ho Chi Minh City ports in recent months have increased by 20-30% over the same period last year as importers take advantage of price hikes in the domestic market.

Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of the Animal Health Centre region six, said 25,905 tonnes of frozen meat were imported in the first four months of the year, mostly poultry meat.

The increase in the price of pork and chicken in the domestic market offers excellent opportunities for importers to ship a large volume of meat for higher profits.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Sub-Department of Animal Health, the volume of imported frozen meat that the sub-department controls has sometimes increased two- to three-fold compared to normal times.

In April, the department supervised nearly 10,000 tonnes of imported meat, including 786 tonnes of cattle meat, 8,219 tonnes of poultry and 456 tonnes of pork. After Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, the price of pork and chicken on the domestic market fell strongly, outselling imports.

However, when pork and chicken prices surged strongly in the domestic market, the price of imported meat also increased, although the global price remained unchanged or only slightly increased, bringing huge profits for meat importers.

For instance, the global price of chicken wings is about US$2,300 per tonne currently, with the cost including tax and other expenses at VND65,000 (US$3.1) per kg when it arrives in Vietnam. However, a kg of imported chicken wings is being sold for VND90,000 (US$4.3).

Similarly, the cost of a kg of imported pork is about VND60,000 (US$2.9) including tax and other expenses, while its retail price in the domestic market is VND70,000-80,000 (US$3.4-3.9) per kg. Imported frozen meat is usually VND10,000 (US$0.48) cheaper than that of local meat.