Vietnam slashes frozen pork import tariff to 10% from 15%

The move was made in response to the country’s domestic pork production being heavily impacted by African swine fever, Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network cited Erin Borror of U.S. Meat Export Federation Economist.

Recently, Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has proposed the government to cut frozen pork import tariff to 10% through the end of 2020.

The rate was proposed to resume to 15% from January 2021. The new rate was reported to take effect from July 10, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated Vietnam's pork production last year was down at least 15% and that it will fall by more than 5%.

Again, this year, the swine inventory dropped by 13% and so there's been some talk for many months now about Vietnam potentially reducing import tariffs because despite a surge in hog and pork prices, imports have not grown enough to fill the shortage and unlike other countries where pig prices have moderated recently, especially for example, in China, Vietnam prices continued to set new highs.

“The tariff rate on frozen pork dropped from 15 percent to 10 percent for the rest of this year, so that’s fairly comparable with what Canadian pork is paying under CPTPP,” said the radio network. “The rate on most variety meats remains at eight percent. It’s not entirely clear to me when this will be implemented and fact, but it’s basically in the final stages. In the short run, this puts the U.S. – and everyone else – on a level playing field.”

In the first quarter of 2020, U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to Vietnam increased 251% from a year ago to 4,382 metric tons.

Pork prices in Vietnam hit a 20-year high of VND162,000 ($6.9) per kilogram over scarcity caused by the African swine fever epidemic last year.

Vietnam has increased imports both pork and live hogs but locals prefer domestic pork, so it will be difficult to contain the rising prices.

Source: Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network