Opportunities awaits Vietnam animal husbandry over the next decade

According to the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, the price of livestock products, especially pork has been stable due to the fact that the supply has been secured.

Specifically, the price of live hog is maintained at around VND75-76,000 or about US$3 per one kilogram.

In addition, the development of livestock products has grown well thanks to the effective control of diseases.

Statistics from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) showed that the poultry herds in the first month of this year increased by 6.5 per cent compared to last year’s figure.

The cold weather in January didn’t leave much effect on the cattle population.

For example, the number of cows was up by 2.2 per cent against the same period last year.

The pig production industry continues to recover across the country.

According to the GSO, the number of pigs in the country in January this year increased by 16.2 per cent over last year’s figure.

Sixteen large-scale pig producers alone have over 5.46 million pig heads, a growth of 71 per cent compared to January 2019 (before the outbreak of African swine fever), and an increase of 64.3 per cent compared to January last year.

Growth target

The Department of Livestock Production hopes to increase its average production growth rate in 2021 by 5-6 percent.

The production of meat is expected to reach about 5.7 million tonnes, including 3.67 million tonnes of pork (up 6.1 percent), 1.5 million tonnes of poultry meat (up 5.8 percent) and 395,000 tonnes of beef (up 6 percent).

Eggs are projected to surge by 7.5 per cent year-on-year to about 15.6 billion and milk production to hit 1.21 million tonnes, up 11.5 percent against last year’s figures.

To realize the target, the department will focus on measures to expand the market for livestock products, particularly milk, poultry meat, bird's nest and silk products.

It will strengthen supervision of materials quality and food safety. Attention will be paid to the use of banned substances, abuse of antibiotics and industrial chemicals in the processing of animal feed and those used for environmental treatment in the livestock industry.

Forming large production chains

The livestock sector will apply biosecurity standards to farming practices, especially on pig breeding.

It is anticipated that Vietnam will have between 10-12 major production chains for pigs by 2025. The size of pigs herds will be reviewed while the productivity of sows will be evaluated in order to ensure proper solutions to production.

“The Department of Livestock Production is expected to hold a symposium on the resumption and development of sustainable pig production in the 2021-2025 period,” Nguyen Xuan Duong, acting head of the department said.

A conference on sustainable poultry development in 2021-2025 and another one for livestock development for 2021-2025 will also be organized in the second and third quarter of this year, he said.

Regarding poultry farming, the department will direct the building of the poultry meat industry in line with production chains. It is expected that Vietnam will have 15-20 major meat production chains and 10-15 poultry egg chains by 2025.

In addition to adjusting the size of the poultry herd to meet the demand of domestic consumption and for export, the sector will also strive to improve production capacity and control the quality of poultry breeds, particularly their origin.

It will continue to implement programs to enhance the quality of beef and buffalo meat by expanding farming models and fattening buffaloes and cows with maize biomass and other agricultural by-products.

In the future, the livestock sector will focus on developing products with high potential like bird’s nests.

The department will coordinate with relevant agencies in speeding up the formal export of swiftlet nest products to such potential markets as Chinese one.