July 29, 2011

Vietnam's imports of different kinds of meat have surged after domestic prices of the products soared amid thin supplies, reports showed Thursday (Jul 28).

As of July 15, as many as 6,436 cattle were brought into the country from Cambodia and 755 others from Thailand, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

In addition, 170 tonnes of pork were smuggled through Lang Son and four tonnes of chicken via Quang Ninh from China during the period, the ministry said.

Imports of frozen chicken and cattle meats from other countries such as the US, Canada, and New Zealand amounted to 7,967 tonnes during the period.

The MARD also admitted that only 50% of the meat imports via border gates is quarantined.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, meanwhile, said the imports of animal meats have increased strongly since early this month, with around 25 tonnes of pork being smuggled daily into the country via borders in Lang Son.

The General Statistics Office said in a report on Monday that the number of cattle in the first seven months of this year was almost unchanged from a year earlier. Poultry flock rose 5-6% on-year while pig herd dropped 2-3%.

Nguyen Tien Thoa, head of the Price Control Department under the Ministry of Finance, said that the supply and demand imbalance was the cause of food price hikes.

Foreign traders bought around 20,000 pigs in the first quarter of 2011 while hefty demand for shrimp was reported at the same time.