Imported pork is flooding into Vietnam

Pork imports increase dramatically

Imported pork from Spain is sold at a supermarket in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: Internet

Specifically, in January 2019, Vietnam spent 3.23 million USD, approximately equal to the value of pork imports in the first 4 months of 2018 (3.51 million USD). This figure was 10 million USD in March, 9 million USD in April when African swine fever (ASF) spread in the North.

Concerned about the safety of domestic pork, many food processing companies, industrial kitchens, schools and consumers have switched to using imported pork. This trend is increasing due to the sharp decrease in pork supply when the number of pigs culled due to ASF has exceeded 2.5 million.

The director of a food trading company in Ho Chi Minh City said that most of the imported pork is sold to food processing companies and industrial kitchens, and little is sold to the retail market. If there is any pork, it is specialty pork or high-end pork.

Imported pork sources are also quite diverse from the US, Canada, Spain, Germany, Poland, France... Imported pork prices are quite competitive.

In addition to pork, businesses also import a lot of chicken, buffalo, beef, livestock by-products..., of which the most is by-products after slaughter with a total value of approximately 450 million USD. Next is buffalo, beef (over 228 million USD), poultry meat (over 82 million USD)...

"Painful blow" to domestic livestock farming

Imported pork from Poland is sold at a supermarket in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Internet

According to the Dong Nai Livestock Association, massive pork imports will cause difficulties for the domestic livestock industry. Meanwhile, the quality of imported meat is also a problem because some types of meat imported to Vietnam cost only about 30,000 VND/kg, lower than the price of live pigs in the country.

Not to mention, pork imported from the US and Canada may still contain residues of the lean meat additive ractopamine. Mr. Pham Duc Binh - Vice President of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association said that Vietnam has banned the use of lean meat additives based on Beta-agonist (including clenbuterol, salbutamol and ractopamine) but the US and Canada still allow the use of ractopamine in raising pigs, cows, chickens, horses...

Of course, pork exporting countries also have regulations to stop using it for a period of time before slaughtering and limit the maximum allowable content. But in Vietnam, it is a banned substance, so in principle, Vietnam must ban the import of meat raised with leanness-enhancing substances.

It is known that a few days ago, China suspended the operations of a domestic company because it imported pork from Canada containing the banned substance ractopamine. "Allowing the import of pork containing ractopamine is unfair to domestic farmers," said Mr. Binh.

Graphics: N.KH.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc - Vice President of the Southeast Livestock Association said that opening the door for imported meat to flood in would be a heavy blow to farmers who are already exhausted by the epidemic.

Once imported meat dominates the domestic market, it will be difficult for the livestock industry to recover after the pandemic. "Vietnam will not lack meat if the government has reasonable regulatory policies. While pork is in short supply, domestically raised chicken, duck and eggs are in surplus, causing heavy losses for farmers," said Mr. Ngoc.