July 19, 2007

 

Frozen chickens sales fall flat as Vietnam still prefers fresh chickens

 

 

Frozen chicken sales in Vietnam have not taken off despite government efforts that have gone into encouraging investment in frozen poultry production.

 

Vietnam embarked on a drive to produce frozen chickens to replace fresh chickens in the market last year to prevent bird flu recurrences.

 

Market experts said the problem was that Vietnamese consumers still prefer buying whole fresh chickens from markets as they taste better. There are about 30 large processing units in Vietnam and only 30 percent of meat sold in Vietnam is frozen. There are more than 500 medium and small slaughterhouses in the country

 

Phuc Thinh, a domestic business specialising in chicken products, had to abandon its brand of frozen food due to poor sales. The company now sells fresh chickens even though bird flu is still a concern.

 

Sales at Japfa Comfeed Vietnam, a chicken plant in Vinh Phuc Province owned by Indonesian investors fared worse. The plant, which can process 24,000 chickens per day was operating far below capacity as it could only sell 5,000 chickens a month.

 

Even the company's efforts to entice grocery stores to carry its frozen meat by providing free refrigeration units have failed to spark more sales.

 

Businesses selling frozen chickens said that business was good in the beginning but as consumers find that the taste is dry and not as good as fresh chickens, they stopped buying.

 

Even businesses which tried to sell their frozen chickens to hotels and restaurants, which were supposedly more safety-conscious were turned away.

 

Foreign customers were skeptical about the safety of domestic products although it has been certified by the Animal Health Department, said Do Van Bao, head of the Green Food Company's Business Division.

 

According to the department, some provinces and cities, including Binh Phuoc, Long An, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City, had actively developed a plan to build central poultry and animal slaughtering facilities and cater to frozen chickens.

 

Processing companies are praying that increased international economic integration and industrialisation would help make hygienic meat products more popular in the country.