August 31, 2011
Vietnam encouraged to establish association to develop animal husbandry
A livestock association should be launched by Vietnam to bring local animal breeders together with feed and breed manufacturers, slaughter companies and consumers to enhance the country's animal husbandry, according to Vu Manh Hung, the head of the Poultry Association of the southern province of Binh Phuoc.
"Such association will act as an intermediary in case livestock farmers are forced to buy at exorbitant prices," Hung said.
"The association will help farmers to negotiate for a more reasonable price or recommend them to buy from other feed manufacturers." Hung noted.
He said this will help farmers ensure the stability of input costs, and thus contribute to the stable development of the industry as well as enabling consumers to buy food at competitive prices.
Hung suggested setting up an animal husbandry association in the southern region, the country's largest livestock farm to support farmers.
"The government should also have supporting policies and set up necessary facilities to ensure the effectiveness of the association," he added.
Hung said that what most worried him is the unstable development of the industry, which put negative impacts on food prices and caused difficulties for both consumers and farmers.
This is the consequence of the government's inadequate consideration and attention to the livestock industry, he said.
"The government has spent a large sum on policies such as providing compensation to farmers when they have to destroy their livestock herds due to diseases or supporting them to develop breeders," he said. "But none of these yielded positive results."
He said livestock farmers were badly in need of a better protection from the government, as they were sometimes forced to buy feed and breeders at high prices.
He said although the Vietnamese livestock industry is being dominated by the foreign businesses, which are holding most of the animal feed and livestock breeding market share, it is the domestic companies, especially the feed manufacturers that should bear the blame.
"They have missed the chance to spread their control over their home market," he said, adding that it was also because the foreign firms are more experienced as well as having better business strategies.
For instance, he said, the foreign feed manufacturers will not begin setting up factories until they finish doing comprehensive market research and building marketing strategies.
Meanwhile, the domestic firms often build production facilities first and have to struggle for the product outlets later, which will put their business at high risks.
"Moreover, since Vietnamese companies do not have effective management policies, their production costs are always higher than those of their foreign counterparts," he added.