Dairy cow business is not profitable in Vietnam, dairy farmers in HCM City said during a meeting with the Agriculture and Rural Development Department recently.

HCM City Farmers' Association conducted a survey on 200 milk cow farming households in the city, the total expenses for every kilogramme of fresh milk is as high as VND8,100 (US$0.43).

Meanwhile, dairy producers pay VND7,000-7,200 (US$0.37-$0.38) only for every kg of milk. As such, farmers are incurring the loss of VND800 (US$0.04) per every kg of milk.

Nguyen Van Tui from the HCM City Farmers' Association said that the higher price of animal feed is the main reason that makes farmers incur losses. Cattle feed has increased in price seven times since the beginning of the year, 25% in total.

Furthermore, farmers cannot raise the sale prices of fresh milk, because dairy producers refuse to collect milk at higher prices.

Heavy loss has prompted farmers to give up farming. According to the association, the number of dairy cows in the city has decreased by 6,000 so far this year.

Tui pointed out that the VND7,000 (US$0.37) per kg price is much lower than the price of US$28,000 (US$1.48) per kg at which dairy producers sell products to the market. While farmers have to work hard, they cannot reap the rewards in the production chain.

If dairy producers continue to keep the milk purchase prices at low levels, they will lose material suppliers as farmers, due to the low profit and loss, will stop farming, he added.