The Ministry of Industry and Trade continues to solicit comments on the Dairy Industry Development Strategy.

Rapid growth, but still lagging behind demand.

Based on research into the practical implementation of the Vietnam Dairy Processing Industry Development Plan to 2020, with a vision to 2025, the Institute for Strategic and Policy Research in Industry and Trade, Ministry of Industry and Trade , assesses that the Vietnamese dairy industry has consistently achieved good growth rates. Enterprises in the industry are continuously building, improving, and innovating equipment, applying advanced technologies with a high level of automation comparable to the region and the world, in order to improve processing productivity and enhance the quality of milk supplied to the market.

The dairy industry has produced a wide variety of products, introducing many new types to the market such as organic milk products and special nutritional products derived from milk. However, the two main segments that determine the growth of the entire dairy industry, and are also the two most important and dominant product lines today, remain liquid milk and powdered milk. These two segments alone account for nearly three-quarters of the market value, with fresh milk production reaching 1,500 thousand liters and powdered milk reaching 138,000 tons in 2021.

Currently, dairy processing businesses in the industry have continuously invested in developing sources of liquid milk, helping the domestic dairy processing industry to develop steadily and grow stronger. In addition, the dairy industry is investing with the goal of increasing domestic processed milk production and reducing dependence on imported raw materials. This is a correct objective for the industry to fully exploit its domestic potential and achieve sustainable development.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade continues to solicit feedback on the Dairy Industry Development Strategy. (Illustrative image: Chinhphu.vn)

Besides the achievements, the Institute for Strategic and Policy Research in Industry and Trade also pointed out the weaknesses of the current dairy industry. These include the high cost of animal feed and investment in livestock farming, leading to Vietnamese dairy products being more expensive than similar products worldwide .

In many localities, investment in processing facilities is still unbalanced with raw material availability, reducing production and business efficiency, leading to an unstable and unsustainable industry. The contribution of the processing industry to increasing the value of dairy products remains low.

The quality and variety of products are limited, the added value is not high, and the export price of milk is often 5-7% lower than the world market price for similar products. Processed products are still monotonous, and investment in deep processing and the production of high value-added products accounts for a low percentage of the total processed product output. In particular, processed dairy products are limited, and their ability to meet both domestic and export market demands remains low.

A new development roadmap for the dairy industry.

Based on research into the strengths and weaknesses of the dairy industry over the past period, the Institute for Strategic and Policy Research in Industry and Trade has developed a new development strategy for the industry. The Institute has also recently published the full text of the Draft Decision submitted to the Prime Minister on the Strategy for the Development of the Dairy Industry for the period up to 2030, with a vision to 2050.

Accordingly, the dairy industry aims to achieve the common goal of improving productivity and increasing processed milk output by leveraging its potential and advantages, in line with green growth, circular economy, smart economy, and proactive adaptation to climate change; organizing large-scale, diversified, value-added, and food-safe production and processing of goods, linked to industrialization and modernization; achieving competitive pricing, building strong national brands to meet the requirements of domestic and export markets; improving the material and spiritual lives of the people, and ensuring social security.

Specifically, the average annual growth rate of the dairy industry is projected to be 4%-4.5% by 2030 and 3-4% per year by 2050.

In terms of production, the dairy industry focuses on investing in advanced technology on an industrial scale, applying technical advancements in all stages of the process, from developing raw milk sources and processing to preserving products; and integrating processing to increase the proportion of high value-added products.

Invest in and fully exploit the advantages of raw milk production regions. Research and develop sources of animal feed, change traditional farming methods, and increase domestic milk processing output.

Utilize digital technology in production and processing to enhance efficiency and product quality, as well as optimize processing, management, and distribution processes. Encourage recycling and reuse of milk packaging products to reduce environmental impact and increase the availability of reusable resources.

The strategy also outlines specific directions for the development of dairy products; dairy industry enterprises; attracting investment for industry development; consumer markets; enhancing the competitiveness of dairy products and enterprises; developing human resources; attracting investment and technological innovation for the industry…

To realize these development directions, the Institute for Strategic and Policy Research in Industry and Trade has also proposed several solutions.

In this context, functional units are focusing on perfecting the policy mechanisms for developing the dairy industry. This includes developing the product consumption market by building a network of processed dairy product sales markets, and organizing the construction of a logistics system that closely connects producers, purchasing and processing businesses with distributors…

Simultaneously, it is necessary to strengthen investment attraction and technological innovation for the dairy industry; develop human resources; promote sustainable and green development of the dairy industry; and build and develop brands for dairy products.

Regarding the development of raw material supply for milk production and processing, the Institute for Strategic and Policy Research in Industry and Trade believes that dairy businesses need to closely coordinate with localities and milk suppliers to build raw material areas as well as infrastructure for purchasing raw milk to ensure stable quality and sufficient quantity for the processing industry.

Strengthening economic linkages between different stages and components in the production-processing-consumption system contributes to the development of the processing industry and enhances the competitiveness of Vietnamese processed dairy products.

Establishing raw milk production centers to create large raw material areas allows for the application of mechanization in production, increasing productivity and output, and facilitates investment in science and technology to develop the industry.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/bo-cong-thuong-tiep-tiep-lay-y-kien-dong-gop-cho-chien-luoc-phat-trien-nganh-sua-347121.html