Less meat imports proposed to help farmers
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Vietnam’s Animal Husbandry Department is calling for a reduction of meat imports to prevent local livestock farms from going bust in this season of low demand.
The proposed import cut will help stabilize local meat prices and ensure decent incomes for farmers, Hoang Kim Giao, head of the department, told the Thoi bao Kinh Te Saigon (Saigon Economic Time).
Demand for pork between now and August is traditionally down, so if supply stays at the current level, pork prices will slump, he said, adding a price decline would hurt the livestock farming industry.
Giao denied news reports that a low supply of domestic pork had sent prices skyrocketing. “I do affirm that there is no short supply. Transport of domestic pork has been disrupted as livestock disease outbreaks have been detected in some provinces.”
He said his department was considering giving livestock farmers good breeders and vet drugs and helping them clean up their farms so as to improve the quality of their products, instead of providing loan interest support.
The department is working with other relevant agencies to find ways to prevent meat prices from surging, he said, noting that any meat price hike might lead animal feed producers to raise prices of their products though world material prices are decreasing.
