TÂY NINH - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Tây Ninh Province People's Committee, De Heus Group (Netherlands), and Hùng Nhơn Group organised a press conference in the southern province of Tây Ninh on Tuesday to announce the opening of a disease-free zone for livestock.

The press conference also heard plans for the opening ceremony of the DHN Tay Ninh High-Tech Livestock Farming Zone and ground-breaking ceremonies for seven key projects there.

Nguyễn Văn Long, director of the Department of Animal Health, said: “Việt Nam has established disease-free zones for a long time, and this has helped the country's livestock exports. Poultry products have been shipped to Japan, while pork has been sold to markets like South Korea and Hong Kong.”

Speaking about the province's livestock industry, deputy chairman Tây Ninh People's Committe, Trần Văn Chiến, said the locality has 10 million poultry birds and poultry meat output would top 62,460 tonnes this year.

Organisers announce the launching of Tây Ninh's disease-free zone for livestock at the press conference in the province on Tuesday. — Photo Courtesy from Hùng Nhơn Group

The livestock structure continues to shift from small-scale farming to large-scale centralised farming focused on bio-safe farming.

The province has 116 poultry farms and 81 of them have received VietGAHP certificates; one area in Dương Minh Châu District and six commune-level establishments in Gò Dầu District are safe from avian flu and Newcastle disease in poultry; 71 other livestock farms have been certified as safe from diseases.

Chiến said Tây Ninh is committed to establishing free-disease zones, which are vital for implementing livestock development strategies.

The agricultural sector would reorganise production, speed up construction of bio-safe livestock areas, encourage enterprises to invest in advanced slaughterhouses for livestock, diversify market outlets, and establish multiple livestock and slaughter chains focusing on technology, he said.

Gabor Fluit, CEO of De Heus Asia shared the Netherlands' experience in establishing fee-disease zones and effectively isolating infected areas to prevent the spread of diseases.

He also discussed the concept of free-disease zones based on the OIE guidelines to enable Việt Nam to safely export meat to other countries, thereby avoiding trade barriers related to food safety.

Vũ Mạnh Hùng, chairman of Hùng Nhơn Group delivers remarks at the press conference in Tây Ninh Province on Tuesday. — Photo Courtesy from Hùng Nhơn Group

"If Việt Nam establishes effective safe disease zones, it can export pork to Japan and South Korea, and even chicken breast to Europe safely. Currently, the value of chicken breast in Europe is 2-3 times higher than in Việt Nam."

At the conference, organisers announced a series of projects to be organised on Sunday.

There will be an inauguration ceremony for the DHN Tây Ninh High-Tech Livestock Farming Area, the announcement of seven key investment projects in the agricultural sector in 2025 - 2030 with a total investment of VNĐ2.5 trillion and the declaration of a plan to export poultry products to halal markets.

The event will be live-streamed on digital platforms such as the fan page of Tay Ninh Television Station, Hùng Nhơn Group, De Heus, Bel Gà, and other partners in the supply chain.

Alongside the main event, there will be the signing of two memorandums of understanding between the People's Committee of Tây Ninh Province, Hùng Nhơn Group, De Heus Group, and partners to survey and invest in a modern high-tech hatchery, construct livestock farms that use high technology, supply duck brood stock and meat products.

Vũ Mạnh Hùng, chairman of Hùng Nhơn Group, said the event on May 19 is part of the new co-operation strategy between Hùng Nhơn and De Heus.

This is also the direction that global corporations are pursuing, the "farm to table" model.

It is estimated that this model would achieve billions of dollars in revenue by 2030, Hùng said.

It is expected that thousands of participators will attend the event including Goverment leaders, representatives of ministries and sectors, local authorities, representatives of ambassies, and entrerpreneurs from domestic and foreign companies.

Partners of De Heus and Hùng Nhơn, and companies from Halal markets will also send representatives to the event.

Also at the press conference, De Heus and Hùng Nhơn representatives spoke about the DHN Charity Fund.

It will be worth VNĐ30 billion and have a mission of improving the lives of people in difficult circumstances, helping poor households access clean food, ensuring food safety and hygiene, and organising regular health checks. — VNS