Exporting the livestock products: Must follow the command of market

The Vietnamese export of livestock products has prospered gradually with conquering some strict markets. In order to ensure sustainable development, the whole industry is required to reorganize in the chain, link with the market, produce under the “command” of the market.

Export of poultry products is recorded with strong growth in the first half of year. Picture: N.Thanh.

The export is up to 3.8%

According to the Bureau of Agro-product Processing and Market Development (MARD), in the first seven months, the export value of poultry products was estimated at US$ 305 million, up 3.8% over the same period last year. In the first half of the year, the export value of poultry products reached US$ 19.4 million, up nearly 3 times compared with the same period of 2017. The value of post-slaughter products and milk and dairy products rose by 2.4% and 2.2 times compared with the same period of 2017.

In opposition to the above-mentioned export growth, the export value of buffalo, beef and pig products only reached US$ 1.7 million and US$ 21.3 million in the first half of the year, down 63.9 % and 56.4 % respectively over the same period last year.

It is clear that the figure of US$ 305 million and export growth of 3.8% in the first 7 months of this year is not much, but with the production and export capacity of livestock sector over many years, this is a worthy result. A typical point in the export of livestock products from the beginning of the year is the event at the end of May. Thanks to the Sojitz Vietnam Company, the first pork container of the Mavin Group landed at Yagoon-Myanmar port and was cleared and quarantined successfully by the importer. By the end of June, the Mavin Group and Sojitz Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation. Accordingly, Sojitz committed to connecting the Mavin Group with global clients.

Appreciating the cooperation of the two units, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vu Van Tam emphasized, “Hopefully, the two sides will continue to cooperate and promote the export of pork into Myanmar. Besides, I suggest that the 2 parties continue to study other markets, focusing on the processed products to export into many markets.” Previously, in August 2017, the first Vietnamese batch of chicken was exported successfully into the Japanese market by the Koyu & Unitek Co., Ltd. Since then, the export activities have been carried out regularly with the export volume of nearly 100 tons of processed products per month. The chicken and pig in particular, and the Vietnamese livestock products in general are gradually more confident in conquering many markets.

Talking about Vietnam's strength in the animal husbandry, Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said that under the Project on reorganizing the livestock sector, pig was still at an advantage, the next was poultry. In export, notably today, Vietnamese duck eggs were evaluated the best in Southeast Asia. Many countries liked the duck eggs of Vietnam. The Vietnamese livestock sector has also been promoting the development of colored feather chickens and other native livestock species in the direction of organic production.

Manufacture under the "command" of market

Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam added that in order to export, the products must meet the requirements of the market. At present, Vietnam signed and implemented many FTAs, the markets demanded increasingly high technical barriers, in particular, food safety and the plant and animal quarantine. “Getting into the market is difficult, maintaining and developing is more difficult, demanding the competitiveness of goods. Therefore, to promote export, our livestock products have to not only overcome the technical barriers of markets, but also improve the quality and design of products constantly, reduce costs, increase competitiveness,” said Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam.

Some experts pointed out: In order to meet the import market, the requirement for the livestock sector was to reorganize in a chain, and link to the market. Previously, the livestock sector produced mainly on the bandwagon, had no concern about who to sell to and where to sell, but now, it must produce under the “command” of market. The enterprises in the first link of the chain would access the export market, organize the production based on the contracts signed with the importers. This way it would limit the status of redundancy, and rescue the agricultural products. In fact, according to Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam, in the process of restructuring the livestock sector, the whole sector has been reorganizing the production in a chain for the traceability of products. It is considered as the core factor for the livestock products export to the foreign market, as well as meet the higher and higher demands and requirements of consumers in other countries.

For pork, with the start of the Mavin Group's success, in order to expand the export market the immediate orientation determined by the MARD is to concentrate on the State’s support for the big enterprises and corporations in order to seek the markets. Besides, on the basis of the requirements of enterprises, the management agencies will orient the construction of safe breeding and disease-free areas and facilities associated with food hygiene monitoring throughout the chain, and traceability of products.

At present, the MARD has set up a working group headed by Director of Animal Health Department and relevant units to assist the enterprises in developing disease-free zones, tracing the origin, cooperating with the Animal health authorities of the importing countries to sign the quarantine agreements. “In the coming time, the MARD will sign an agreement with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to send the OIE experts to support the establishment of breeding food chains which are eligible for exporting; Issue the Certification of disease-free regions as well as the whole chain. This is the basis for Vietnam to expand the export of animal products,” Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam emphasized.