Japanese beef worth millions of dong hits the Vietnamese market

Japanese beef such as Kobe and Hida, although many times more expensive than American and Australian beef, is still chosen by many Vietnamese restaurants.

The manager of a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City said there are many ways to prepare Japanese beef. But the most common way is to make beefsteak with as little seasoning as possible, because the aroma of the meat comes from the beef fat when cooked. Here, the most expensive dish is the premium beefsteak, priced at VND690,000 for 250 grams.

Kobe beef is 5-6 times more expensive than American and Australian beef but is still welcomed by Vietnamese consumers.

In addition, to attract a large number of customers who want to enjoy beef originating from Japan, many restaurants have used minced beef mixed with pork in a beef-pork ratio of 7:3 to produce Japanese hamburger-style minced meat. The price of a portion of Japanese beef hamburger is about 150,000 VND or more, while a good American beef hamburger costs only about 110,000 VND.

Ms. Ngan, owner of a store specializing in imported meats in District 1, said that Japanese beef is popular with Vietnamese customers because of its delicious taste, softness, aroma, and the feeling of melting in the mouth when eaten. The amount of beef fat in a piece of meat determines the deliciousness of that piece of meat. The fat must not be too much or too little, not too greasy, and must be very soft.

Japanese beef is often called Wagyu (not the name of a specific region), but there are many types, the most famous of which are Kobe, Hida, Miyazaki beef... These are premium beef, which can be called "luxury" in the world beef market.

The price of one kilogram of A5 grade Kobe black beef tenderloin distributed by Ms. Ngan is 4.5 million VND, while the lower grade A4 is 3.8 million VND. She said that Japanese beef products are currently selling quite well even though the price is 5-6 times higher than American and Australian beef. After enjoying Wagyu beef at restaurants, high-end customers have started to buy it for home use.

"I only sell purebred Kobe beef, not Kobe beef crossbred with dairy cows, so the price is higher than at some restaurants," said the owner of this store.

Faced with increasing demand, the Kobe black-haired beef breed has also been pioneered by Kobe Beef Joint Stock Company in limited quantities in Lam Dong, with an expected selling price of about 3 million VND per kg (good quality), about 30% cheaper than the imported equivalent, and the lowest is also 700,000 VND per kg.

The company representative said that the cows listen to music, drink beer, and get full massages like cows raised in Japan. After being raised for about 28 to 32 months, the cows are slaughtered. Japanese cattle raising experts with more than 40 years of experience ensure that each cow is cared for to produce the best quality meat.

Currently, the company's Kobe beef is not yet sold on the market. Apart from being used to prepare dishes at some special receptions of the parent corporation, the amount of Kobe beef consumed each month is only delivered in small quantities to a single customer, a tycoon in Laos.

In addition to Kobe, there is information that Hida beef - a higher quality beef than Kobe beef, is available in Vietnam with a selling price of 5 million to 9 million VND per kilogram, but currently there is no restaurant officially promoting dishes made from this type of beef.

According to VNE