August 17, 2011

Vietnam to import 130,000 tonnes of meat 

Vietnam will have to ship in between 120,000 and 130,000 tonnes of meat for the rest of 2011, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The ministry estimated that the country will consume between 2.4 million tonnes and 2.5 million tonnes of meat by 2011-end.

Local animal husbandry sector is expected to supply between 2.26 million tonnes and 2.38 million tonnes of meat, and the gap should be filled by imports, the ministry said.

At a working meeting in Hanoi August 15 with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade, re-elected Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai demanded the agriculture ministry to cooperate with provinces to boost animal husbandry in order to increase meat supply for domestic consumptions.

Currently, many Vietnamese animal raisers are forced to halt their production due to lack of capital amid high interest rates and production costs as well as frequencies of animal disease outbreaks.

As a result, the country's imports of meat have surged. It imported 39,180 tonnes of meat in the first half, up 25% from the same period last year.