Binh Phuoc province working towards the export of pork

Vietnam is one of the world's leading pig producers with a herd of over 28 million pigs and a total pork output of 4.1 million tons by 2021.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and pig farming businesses have made efforts in exporting pork to international markets over the years. However, Vietnam has not been able to establish a disease-free area as recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health. As a result, excluding frozen suckling pig and frozen whole small sized pig, Vietnamese frozen pork has not been able to reach international markets.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, importing countries only accept pigs and pig products originating from disease-free countries and regions in accordance with OIE regulations; they do not allow exports and imports from disease-safe facilities. Obtaining certification for a disease-free pig farming area in accordance with OIE regulations is difficult and requires a lot of resources. It is necessary to prioritize pig farming areas that are: considerably larger with an area of at least 500 hectares; geographically isolated; as well as support long distance farming, with a minimum of 10 kilometers for high density pig production areas.

In order to establish a disease-free pig farming area in accordance with OIE regulations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Animal Health have conducted multiple surveys on the animal husbandry conditions in Binh Phuoc - a province with spacious agricultural land to develop large-scale pig breeding and establish disease-free farming areas.

Based on the surveys as well as the data regarding pig production, total pig herd, land fund, conditions of the isolated geographical area to ensure the satisfaction of the epidemiological and epidemic factors in pigs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee to consider and prioritize Bu Dang district (namely Dang Ha commune and its neighboring communes) in the establishment of disease-free pig farming areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also suggested animal husbandry businesses with investment in Bu Dang district including Japfa Comfeed Vietnam, GreenFeed Vietnam, etc. to coordinate with Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee and organize the construction of pork production chain, with the goal of making Bu Dang district a disease-free pig farming area in service of export.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has requested the Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee to direct relevant departments, branches and units in Binh Phuoc province to coordinate with the Department of Animal Health and effectively implement the "Plan to establish pork production chain and disease-free areas in accordance with OIE and Vietnam's regulations (at district level, then at provincial level) to serve the needs of domestic consumption and export."

Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee was also requested to issue local regulations, and direct specialized agencies to guide livestock production facilities in the province in the strict application of biosecurity measures for livestock production, proactive measures to prevent and control pig diseases. On the other hand, the local government will organize vaccination, gather supervision samples after vaccination against foot-and-mouth disease, blue ear, classical swine fever, African swine fever; gather samples of virus circulation surveillance in accordance with the regulations of OIE and importing countries.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also suggested Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee to carefully study OIE regulations regarding disease safety; organize training and capacity building for stakeholders in the establishment of disease-free pig farming areas and pork production chains for export; coordinate with districts and communes to organize the development of a regional, district-level project on pig diseases.

So far, Japfa Comfeed Vietnam has formed a disease-free pork production chain in Binh Phuoc province to serve export. Japfa Comfeed Vietnam currently has a total of 38 farms including 8 breeding farms and 30 meat farms in Binh Phuoc, with a total herd size of approximately 135,380 pigs. Nine of their farms, mainly large-scale breeding and meat pig farms (accounting for 44% of the company's total herd) have been certified free of foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever and African swine fever. The company is building a pig slaughter plant with a capacity of 374,400 pigs/year and meat processing facility with annual capacity of 2,000 tons, an animal feed factory with a capacity of 480,000 tons/year.