Vietnam spends big on animal feed imports

Monday, August 16, 2021 16:31

Argentina remains the largest exporter of animal feed to Vietnam, earning US$1.03 billion from shipping the product to the Southeast Asian nation, accounting for 35.2% of the total market share.

July alone saw Vietnam spend approximately US$476.98 million on importing animal feed and materials, an increase of 50.4% compared to the same period from last year.

Domestic feed production has been growing by 13% to 15% annually, making Vietnam become the 10th largest animal feed producer in the world and the largest in Southeast Asia, according to the Vietnam Poultry Breeders Association.

However, the production and consumption of animal feed still heavily relies on the import of raw materials, meaning that input prices increase following rises in the global market.

Over the next five years, the country’s demand for raw materials is forecast to increase to between 28 - 30 million tonnes each year, costing US$12 - 13 billion, or recording the annual growth of 11% to 12%.

Vietnam should develop a coherent strategy aimed at developing feed ingredients domestically in order to reduce imports, thereby minimizing dependence on foreign raw materials and improving the competitiveness of the nation’s domestic feed production, according to industry experts.

VOV