A workshop to seek measures to boost the production and export of the Yen The hill chicken products, and orientations for enhancing production of farm products and tourism development, has been organised by the Yen The district People’s Committee, northern Bac Giang province.

At the event (Photo: VNA) 

Addressing the event, Secretary of the district Party Committee and Chairman of the district People’s Committee Vu Tri Hai said the products of Yen The hill chickens are considered one of the key products of the locality.

The district’s chicken herd is always maintained  at 4-4.5 million heads, mainly concentrating in Tien Thang, Canh Nau, Tam Tien and Dong Vuong communes.

The district supplies over 14 million commercial chickens per year to the market. The breeding of Yen The hill chickens has brought stable incomes for local farmers.

Yen The hill chickens were granted a certificate of trademark registration by the National Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2011. This is the first livestock product in Vietnam provided with trademark and monopoly protection.

The product has continuously won prestigious prizes since 2011, and was among the four products of Vietnam to receive “The best products and food of Southeast Asia-ASEAN” Cup in 2013. To date, Yen The hill chickens have been protected for industrial property in Laos, China and Singapore.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Van Thai, the province has taken the cultivation of the Yen The hill chickens as one of its strengths.

However, Yen The hill chickens still face many challenges in production, promotion, and consumption.

Through the workshop, local authorities are looking forward to receiving  assessments, forecasts and comments from delegates, scientists and managers, thus building appropriate development orientations and plans for the coming time to improve the value of agricultural products, contributing to further promoting agriculture development in the locality, Thai said.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Tran Quang Tan, it is quite difficult to identify Yen The hill chickens in the market.

The cooperative model is limited and lacks of connection among farmers, cooperatives and enterprises, thus causing pricing problems and unstable consumption, he said.

To boost the consumption of the product, Bac Giang targets both domestic and export markets but it gives first priority to domestic consumption, especially in Hanoi and big cities. It is looking to export Yen The hill chickens to ASEAN and Chinese markets in the near future.

The district will also continue restructuring breeds to improve the quality of the product, towards making inroads into more difficult markets like Japan and Europe.

Participants said Bac Giang need to build a chain of comprehensive husbandry with linkages of breed, production, slaughtering, processing and consumption, aiming to ensure regulations on traceability, food hygiene and safety, disease control, and safe breeding areas.

They stressed that Bac Giang should pay attention to forming cooperatives, promoting the application of advanced  technologies in breeding, processing and selling the product, and work to build and protect the trademark for the product in ASEAN member countries, China, Japan and the EU, and seek new markets.