Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong on May 15 stressed the need for Vietnam’s livestock industry to focus on devising policies and production organization methods to meet market demand for food.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong addresses the event
(Photo: VNA)

Addressing a conference on orientations for the development of grass-fed cattle in Hanoi, Minister Cuong highlighted the great potential and advantages for the sector. However, he noted that due to the impact of climate change and the appearance of new demands, Vietnam is forced to restructure its livestock industry. 

Many localities of Vietnam have potential to develop meadows and green food, especially now that saving water resources has become an urgent need, he said.

Vietnam's beef consumption is lower than the average of the world and some countries such as China, Japan, the US and those in the European Union (EU). This shows that the cow breeding industry has great potential for development in the future.

According to Vice Director of the Department of Livestock Production Tong Xuan Chinh, the sector has set a target to lift and maintain the average annual growth of the value of products of grass-fed cattle in the 2019-2025 period between 5-6 percent.

The production of grass-fed cattle by 2025 is hoped to reach over 500,000 tonnes, accounting for over 10 percent of the total production of all kinds of meat; while the output of raw milk is expected to reach 1.8 to 2.0 million tonnes. 

In order to promote production and consumption of products, the industry will intensify trade promotion and market forecast as well as seek more opportunities to export products to potential markets.

Attention will be paid to promoting linkages in livestock production in line with the value chain; continuing to support livestock farmers to develop into breeding farms; developing cooperative groups; and building brands and geographical indications for products.

At present, the meat production from grass-fed cattle is very small compared to the production of pork and poultry, accounting for only 8.6 percent of the total meat production.

The per capita milk consumption in Vietnam in 2018 reached 27 kg/year. It is predicted that by 2020, this will be around 28 kg.

Among the products of from grass-fed cattle, Vietnam has just exported milk and dairy products to nearly 50 countries, while meat and meat products are exported in a small volume to China.

After more than six years of negotiations, the protocol on the export of Vietnamese dairy products to China was signed on April 26, 2019. This will create an opportunity for Vietnam to expand its milk and dairy product exports to the market with a population of 1.4 billion.