Cheap chicken by-products poured into Vietnam
Chicken necks, feet, and gizzards... are by-products from foreign countries but have become specialties in Vietnam, priced from a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of VND per kilogram.
Mr. Phong, owner of a chicken feet shop in Go Vap (HCMC), said that in the first three months of this year, the amount of chicken by-products sold by his shop increased by 20% compared to the same period last year.
"Currently, the demand for chicken feet in restaurants is increasing, so in addition to selling domestic chicken feet, the store also imports foreign chicken feet at cheaper prices. For wholesale customers buying over 10 kg, the price is 30,000 - 40,000 VND per kg, chicken tails are 15,000 - 20,000 VND. As for chicken heads and necks, the wholesale price is 8,000 - 9,000 VND per kg," Mr. Phong shared.
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Chicken gizzard is a dish that many Vietnamese people make into a specialty.Illustration photo. |
The owner of a business specializing in importing chicken by-products in Ho Chi Minh City also said that each month his business sells about 5-10 tons to the market, mostly to shops and restaurants for use. Many chicken pho restaurants regularly buy necks to make broth at 5,000 VND per kilogram, and for chicken feet, the wholesale price is 30,000 - 40,000 VND.
In supermarkets, chicken necks and feet are also packaged and sold quite well. The prices of these products are quite competitive, only a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of dong per tray from 500 grams to 1 kg.
An employee at a supermarket on Quang Trung Street (Go Vap) said that while the supermarket previously only sold chicken breasts and wings, now imported necks and legs are being bought a lot more by customers. "Every day the supermarket sells dozens of kilograms of by-products. There are days when chicken feet sell out earlier than chicken meat," said an employee at this supermarket.
At the recent conference on livestock development and poultry export promotion, Director of the Department of Processing and Agricultural Product Market Development Nguyen Quoc Toan said that in the period of 2016 - 2018, Vietnam imported an average of 85,000 - 128,000 tons of poultry meat each year, with an import turnover of 80 - 116 million USD. Of which, the import rate of chicken necks, wings, and feet imported from European markets is relatively high. According to Mr. Toan, the trend of using chicken by-products as dishes in restaurants has only appeared in recent years. In Vietnam, these products are considered specialties, so the demand for consumption has increased.
While many foreign chicken by-products are imported to Vietnam, the export of processed chicken meat, salted duck eggs, and canned quail eggs is only at 8,000 - 9,000 tons, with a total turnover of about 18 - 19 million USD.