October 20, 2011

Vietnam to produce 550,000 tonnes of milk by 2015

In order to produce 550,000 tonnes of fresh milk by 2015, Vietnam aims to develop a cow herd of 350,000 animals.

However, it is difficult to meet the targets because in 2010, the country had only 128,600 cows producing nearly 300,000 tonnes of milk, the local media reported Wednesday (Oct 19).

The figures were much lower than the country's target of 200,000 cows with milk output of 350,000 tonnes for the year.

Ho Chi Minh City is the country's centre for cow breeding with 79,800 cows producing 5,400 kilogrammes milk each averagely.

Major local firms such as Vinamilk, Friesland Campina Vietnam, Moc Chau and TH have poured big investments in developing their production facilities.

However, the domestic production of milk meets only 28% of the local demand and the country has to spend billions of dollars to import milk products.

Due to heavy independence on imports, prices of milk powders in Vietnam's market are highest compared with other countries.