Agriculture in Vietnam needs to face new challenges

Vietnam has made remarkable agricultural progress but further policy action is required to address new and emerging challenges. Those are the main conclusions of a new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The OECD Review of Agricultural Policies in Vietnam describes the progress made by the country’s agricultural sector since the Doi Moi reform program started in the mid-1980s. A threefold increase in farm production is credited with a reduction in the proportion of undernourished people from 46 percent in 1990-1992 to 13 percent in 2012-2014. At the same time, the country has become a leading exporter in some foods, including becoming the world’s third-largest exporter of rice and fisheries. The country needs to build on these achievements and at the same time, address new challenges that include a deceleration in output growth, falling commodity prices, limited land resources and growing signs of adverse effects of farming on the environment.
“Vietnam’s agricultural transformation over the past two decades has been nothing short of remarkable,” OECD trade and agriculture director, Ken Ash, said during a launch event in Hanoi with Vietnamese Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh. “Going forward, Vietnam needs to improve its policy environment, to enable investments that will allow the farm sector to continue to adapt to the opportunities created by rising demand and the challenges of climate change and limited resources. Rising labor costs will open opportunities to adopt new technologies and encourage larger farms but they may also reduce the sector’s overall competiveness, particularly if newer labor-saving techniques are not readily accessible or adaptable to the dominant small-scale farming.”

Vietnam’s pig sector

Pig meat is the second largest sector in Vietnamese agriculture with a 15 percent share, according to the report. Output has increased at an average rate of 6.9 percent per year since 1990 although it has declined in recent years. Almost all pig meat produced is consumed in the country, and export potential is limited by poor meat quality and persistent diseases, according to the report. Local producers are effectively protected from imports by restrictive barriers.

Vietnam’s poultry sector

Average annual growth in poultry meat output in Vietnam is also above the global norm at 5.8 percent, with chickens and ducks widely reared across the country. Prices are not internationally competitive, according to the OECD. Since 2008, imports totaling between US$60 and US$90 million have entered the country, mainly from China and the U.S.
Local farmers will soon find they are losing market share to regional and international rivals, Nguyen Thanh Son, chairman of the Vietnam PoultryAssociation, has warned. Thanh Nien News reports that he was addressing a meeting attended by the agriculture minister in Hanoi a month ago, where there was a call for a case to be brought against the U.S. for “dumping” chicken thighs.
The egg sector in Vietnam is relatively small, according to the OECD report, but it is growing at an average annual rate of more than 6 percent.

Feed and grains

Rice is the leading grain produced in Vietnam in terms of area cultivated, followed by maize. Four-fifths of the maize produced goes into animal feed, while substantial and growing volumes are imported.
Non-farming companies have been showing signs of investing in the agricultural sector, reports Nikkei Asia Review.  Steelmaker, Hoa Phat Group, has set up an animal feed subsidiary and it is said to be investing VND300 billion (around $13.3 million) in a feed mill near Hanoi with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons. Production is scheduled to start there by March 2016, followed by another plant in Dong Nai province in the south of the country as well as pig and poultry farms.
The newspaper values Vietnam’s animal feed market at US$7 billion and says it is expanding at an annual rate of around 10 percent. Eighty per cent of the market is covered by local mills belonging to foreign companies, leaving just 20 percent for the 180 or so domestic players.
Other agricultural sectors are also attracting new investors. Vietnamese property company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, started up a dairy farming business along with other agricultural ventures a few years ago, while 3 Japanese companies have recently invested in rice production in Vietnam.

Vietnam poultry producers must improve productivity

Experts have warned that Vietnamese poultry producers will lose their market to regional and international rivals if they don’t improve their productivity and cut costs.
Nguyen Thanh Son, chairman of the Vietnam Poultry Association, says that local chicken production grew 9.3 percent per year between 2003 and 2012, but Vietnamese productivity is lower.
In 2010, it took local large farms 49 days to raise a 2.2-kilogram chicken, and much longer for small farms. The worldwide average is 37-41 days, and is expected to be shortened by 2020.
It also costs more to raise chickens in Vietnam, because a large part of breeds, veterinary drugs and animal feed are imported. This make Vietnam’s chicken products 1.5 to 2 times higher than the global average.
Vietnam spent US$4 billion to import animal feed and materials for feed production in 2013, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vietnam spends the most on animal feed in the world. The country spent US$375 million on feed imports in the first two months of 2014, an increase of 4.7 percent over the same period in 2013. Ninety percent of the imports came from Brazil and Thailand, according to a report.
Vietnam consumes 12.5 million tons of animal feed but must import up to 9 million tons of materials per year, said Le Ba Lich, chairman of the Vietnam Feed Association.

H5N1, H5N6 avian influenza cases confirmed in Vietnam

New cases of avian influenza have been confirmed in Vietnam. One of the avian influenza is of the H5N6 serotype, while the other is of the H5N1 serotype, according to a pair of July 24 reports from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Both strains are considered highly pathogenic
In the H5N6 avian influenza case, the virus was discovered and confirmed in a backyard flock of 605 birds in the Nghe An province. A total of 256 of those birds died as a result of contracting the virus, while the other 349 were destroyed.
In the H5N1 avian influenza case, the virus was confirmed in a backyard flock of 300 birds in the Vinh Long province. Of those 300 birds, 117 died while the other 183 were destroyed.
In both avian influenza cases, the properties were disinfected and protection zones have been established. OIE stated that the sources of infection for both flocks have not yet been determined. The organization will submit weekly follow-up reports on both avian influenza cases until it considers them to be resolved.
Bookmark the WATTAgNet avian influenza update page for current news and analysis concerning avian influenza and the impact the virus has had on the global poultry industry.

Vietnam seeks expanded meat, poultry trade with Russia

Officials from the Vietnamese Department of Animal Health (DAH) will be on a trade mission to Russia until April 17 with the intent to expand the import of Russian poultry meat and other products of animal origin.
While in Russia, the delegation from Vietnam will inspect Russian establishments that are interested in exporting its products to Vietnam, according to a notice from Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian federal service for veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance. Joint work of Rosselkhoznadzor specialists and DAH inspectors will be carried out in eight subjects of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Moscow oblast, Vladimir oblast, Bryansk oblast, Belgorod oblast, Kaliningrad oblast and Novgorod oblast). It is planned to visit eight establishments manufacturing products of animal origin, including beef, pork and poultry meat, and their sources of raw materials. These establishments are included in the list of 13 establishments that are applying for approval for export to Vietnam.
During the visit, negotiations will be conducted between the two parties. Members of the Vietnamese delegation are also expected to familiarize themselves with the Rosselkhoznadzor activities on the border of the Russian Federation, in border inspection points of the Kalinigrad oblast.
Expanded trade opportunities will be welcomed by the Russian meat and poultry industries, as Russia’s meat supply reportedly now exceeds demand.

H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Vietnam resolved, OIE reports

An outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza that struck poultry in October 2013 in the Hoa Binh province of Vietnam has been resolved, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported on January 8. Control measures used included stamping out, movement control inside the country, vaccinations and disinfection of the infected premises.
There were 700 ducks and 475 chickens susceptible to H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnam, according to the OIE. Of the susceptible birds, 370 died and the other 805 were destroyed.
The infection source leading to the H5N1 outbreak in Vietnam was unknown.

H5N1 avian influenza outbreak strikes chickens, ducks in Vietnam

An outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has struck poultry in the Hoa Binh province of Vietnam. There were 700 ducks and 475 chickens susceptible, according to a report from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
The Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported the outbreak to the OIE on October 14. Of the susceptible birds, 370 died and the other 805 were destroyed.
Control measures used include stamping out, movement control inside the country, vaccinations and disinfection of the infected premises.  

Avian influenza cause of boy’s death in Vietnam

Vietnam has confirmed its first human death from avian influenza in more than a year, when a 4-year-old boy died of the H5N1 strain, Vietnamese health officials confirmed on April 9.
The boy died after being hospitalized in southern Dong Thap province. He had apparently developed fever and other symptoms on March 23 after his family slaughtered a chicken they purchased in a village where tests later confirmed an outbreak among poultry.
This death is is not related to an outbreak of a new strain of avian influenza in China, sources say. Vietnam has not reported any traces of the H7N9 viturs, which has killed seven in China since February.
The last human fatality related to avian influenza was reported in February 2012.  

Vietnam 2012 broiler imports estimated up

Vietnam’s estimated total broiler meat imports for 2012 are forecast to be dramatically higher than 2002, while the country’s broiler meat production is estimated to increase only 4 percent since 2002 numbers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service's latest report.
Total domestic consumption for 2012, meanwhile, is estimated to be 102 percent higher than 2002. Per-capita broiler meat consumption for 2012 is forecast to be 7.6 kilograms per person, up from 4.26 kilograms per person in 2002. Vietnam's total poultry consumption forecasts for 2012–2021, including chicken and turkey, are for it to climb 37 percent. Total poultry meat production is also estimated to increase 27 percent, while total poultry imports rise 49 percent over the same time frame, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service report.
U.S. broiler meat January–June cumulative total exports to Vietnam are 38 percent below 2011, but substantially above 2002 for the same time frames. To date in 2012 about 76 percent of U.S. broiler meat exports to Vietnam have been leg quarters. Other poultry meat exports are down 68 percent from the same time frames in 2011. However, frozen chicken paws and feet, the largest component of the other poultry meat category so far in 2012, are up 63 percent, according to the report. January–June cumulative turkey meat exports are 145 percent higher than 2011, while in 2002 no turkey meat exports were recorded for comparable time frames to Vietnam.

New strain of avian influenza found in Vietnam

A new highly toxic strain of avian influenza, 2.3.2.1 C, has been found in Vietnam after appearing in China in July, according to reports. The virus has affected seven provinces and cities so far: Haiphong, Ha Tinh, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Bac Kan, Thanh Hoa and Quang Ngai, said Hoang Van Nam, head of the Department of Animal Health.
The new strain is different from the H5N1 virus, and the ministry will conduct experiments to see if current vaccines will be effective against it. If not, studies on potential vaccines will begin soon. The Central Veterinary Diagnosis Center is also monitoring and looking into the new strain to help find a specific medication against it.

So far, avian flu has resulted in more than 181,000 chickens and ducks dying or being culled in the affected provinces and cities, said the Department of Animal Health.

Vietnam poultry slaughterhouses receive committee support

Vietnam's Ha Noi People's Committee will financially support poultry and cattle slaughterhouses that are located in parts of the capital city specifically set aside for these businesses, according to reports.
The committee said it will support 50 percent of expenses for the slaughter of poultry or cattle in the first year, 40 percent in the second year and 30 percent in the third year. Encouraging slaughterhouses to relocate to areas zoned for these businesses is expected to help wind down Ha Noi's small-scale slaughterhouses and ensure better control over outbreaks of diseases such as bird flu.