Pork imports surge during first half of 2021

Pork items were mainly imported from markets such as Russia, the United States, India, the Netherlands, and Poland, with Russia making up the largest supplier.

Throughout the Jan-May period Vietnam imported 45,700 tonnes of meat and meat products worth US$97.4 million from Russia, up 437.5% in value year on year.

The first half of the year saw Vietnamese livestock exports increase by 9.2% to US$196 million, of which the export of milk and dairy products rose by 35% to reach US$60 million, whilst the export of meat and meat products soared by 30.8% to US$54.6 million.

Nguyen Van Trong, deputy director of the Department of Livestock Production under the MARD, said due to the impact of the African swine fever, the amount of pork imported from abroad to Vietnam has recorded a sharp increase since 2019.

Trong also noted that the increase in pork imports should not be considered a matter of concern as the import volume merely makes up 4% of the country’s total meat imports. Indeed, due to a sharp decline in pork consumption, the amount of meat imported this year is anticipated not to be equal to last year’s figures.

Furthermore, the price of imported pork remains relatively cheap, fluctuating at around VND50,000 per kilo, thereby resulting in the price of live hog plummeting. However, consumers are forced to purchase fresh pork at high prices, ranging between VND120,000 and VND130,000 per kilo at markets, Trong said.

This situation can largely be attributed to the emergence of many intermediary stages in the process of distributing pork to local markets.

Pham Cong Thieu, director of the National Institute of Animal Sciences, said it is necessary to limit pork imports in the future to promote the domestic husbandry industry.