Pigs, beef, chicken, and processed products are imported in large quantities, putting significant pressure on livestock businesses due to unfair competition.
This concern was raised in a document sent to the Prime Minister by four associations: the Livestock Association, the Animal Feed Association, the Large Livestock Association, and the Poultry Association. According to these associations, domestic businesses and livestock farmers are facing many difficulties due to the increasing import of products.
According to statistics, last year Vietnam imported over $3.5 billion worth of livestock products, nearly seven times the export value (over $0.5 billion).
Besides official channels, the Vietnam Livestock Association reports that a large quantity of livestock and processed goods are smuggled in through unofficial channels. On average, 6,000-8,000 pigs are imported into Vietnam daily, not including large quantities of buffalo, cattle, chickens, etc.
The influx of foreign goods has put unfair competitive pressure on domestic livestock products. This is because most imported goods are by-products (rarely used as food), such as heads, necks, wings, hearts, kidneys, and offal, or products nearing their expiration date, which are sold at half the price of domestic products.
"In the long term, this will directly affect national food security," the associations observed. They believe that at the current import rate, in 3-5 years, when import tariffs are reduced to 0%, Vietnam will become a super-importer of livestock products.
A pig farm in Gia Lai . Photo: Thi Ha
Furthermore, massive imports also pose many risks, spreading dangerous diseases such as African swine fever and avian influenza. Therefore, associations recommend that Vietnam should soon implement technical barriers and trade policies to restrict official imports and take measures to prevent smuggling.
Authorities also need to strengthen quarantine measures, quality control, and minimize the number of border crossings permitted to import live animals into Vietnam.
For example, the US, China, Thailand, and Japan require goods to undergo complex and expensive cryogenic treatment processes. Or, on average, each country only allows 3-5 border crossings for the import of live animals, while Vietnam currently has 30.
"Without drastic control measures, Vietnam will find it difficult to control the disease situation in livestock farming," the associations recommended.
Duc Minh
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