Vietnam hikes imports of animal feed

Vietnam bought  1.3 bn US$ worth of imported animal feeds and materials for animal feed production in the first four months of this year, up 2.4% against the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam consumes some 16 million tons of animal feed yearly

Last year, Vietnam spent nearly 3.9 bn US$ importing animal feeds and material for animal feed production, with the biggest import market being Argentina, followed by the US, then Brazil and China, as per data from General Department of Vietnam Customs, reported local media.  About 65 – 70% of complete feed or feed ingredients are imported in Vietnam and this trend continuing as Vietnamese feed industry continues to grow and local supply can’t keep pace with the increased demand.

Imported raw materials

Imported raw materials include soybean meal, corn, DDGS, feed, wheat and various kinds of meal and bran like copra, canola, rapeseed meal, and wheat bran, Imported ingredients also include animal protein sources such as meat and bone meal and fishmeal. ‘Feed what is increasingly becoming an important alternative energy source for the animal feed industry in Vietnam. Yearly feed wheat import volumes vary, depending on their price competitiveness with corn’

‘Today, the Vietnam hog industry is facing African Swine Fever (ASF), which will disrupt production and the feed market in the coming years. However, despite the issues in the animal husbandry sector, Vietnam’s feed industry is still expected to expand at a modest rate in calendar year 2019, supported by the higher growth in aquaculture and broiler industries. Post forecasts that the sector remain almost unchanged in 2020.

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