Source: vnexpress.net
According to preliminary data from customs, in the past 11 months, Vietnam has spent a total amount of nearly 38,000 billion VND (1.55 billion USD) to import meat, an average of about 3,450 billion VND per month. Most of the supply comes from India, the US, Russia and Germany.
Among them, frozen pork and chicken are increasingly popular due to their significantly cheaper prices than domestic products. Statistics show that the price of imported pork ranges from 52,000 to 62,000 VND per kilogram, only about half the price of domestic pork, which is at 80,000 to 180,000 VND per kilogram. Imported goods are given priority by eateries, restaurants and industrial parks to reduce costs.
Mr. Nguyen Tri Cong, Chairman of Dong Nai Livestock Association, said that the signing of many free trade agreements in recent years has created favorable conditions for massive imports into Vietnam. More competitive prices and abundant supply have boosted demand for imported meat. In addition, the spread of African swine fever since the beginning of the year has reduced domestic meat supply, pushing up domestic meat prices, making imported meat a more attractive choice.
However, increased meat imports also pose many potential food safety risks. According to the Department of Animal Health, from May to September, out of 6,679 imported meat shipments inspected, more than 1% of shipments were found to be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria (causing intestinal disease) and were discarded. This shows that without strict control and monitoring measures, the risk of affecting consumer health is huge.
Mr. Cong also emphasized that special attention should be paid to by-products that are at risk of being expired, which is a worrying issue in the context of a sharp increase in meat imports.
Importing cheap meat is bringing more choices to consumers, but at the same time it also poses significant challenges for the domestic livestock industry, as well as stricter requirements in quality management and food safety. .
