Vietnam’s pork imports surge nearly 300 percent in five months

Khanh Minh Thursday | 06/11/2020 14:06

FILE PHOTO: Pork is displayed for sale at a market in Hanoi, Vietnam February 19, 2019. REUTERS/Kham

Vietnam imported about 67,640 tonnes of pork from the beginning of this year to end-May, up 298 percent, VietnamPlus cited data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Nearly 130 domestic firms purchased pork and related products in the period, mainly from Canada, Germany, Poland, Brazil, the US, Spain and Russia.

The imports encountered various obstacles as the global supply was also on the decrease, worsened by the ravaging African swine fever in several countries.

There were about 678 million pigs worldwide in January, down nearly 12 percent compared to the figure in 2019.

Due to complexities brought by COVID-19, the ministry has assigned relevant agencies to hold talks with regional countries regarding the import of live pigs.

Animal health agencies of Vietnam and Thailand are discussing procedures to allow direct import of pigs from Thailand.

The ministry said during the past five months, local farmers have started rebuild herds in epidemic-free localities. In May, the total pig herds decreased 6.2% over the same period while poultry increased by 11.5%, according to the General Statistics Office.

In five months, the country imported $12.2 billion farm produces, down 4.5% compared to the same period in 2019.

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

Source: VietnamPlus, MARD