The country has boosted pork imports to make the pork price reduce from the end of the third quarter. — Photo nld.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s livestock industry hopes to increase its average production growth rate in 2021 by 5-6 per cent, according to the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The production of meat is expected to reach about 5.7 million tonnes, including 3.67 million tonnes of pork (up 6.1 per cent), 1.5 million tonnes of poultry meat (up 5.8 per cent) and 395,000 tonnes of beef (up 6 per cent).

Meanwhile, eggs are expected to surge by 7.5 per cent year-on-year to about 15.6 billion and milk production to hit 1.21 million tonnes, up 11.5 per cent.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phùng Đức Tiến said another important task in 2021 for the livestock sector is to complete five strategic projects for the livestock industry in Việt Nam under the Livestock Development Strategy Project in 2021-2030.

In addition, the industry needs to make full use of investment from the State budget, official development assistance and the private sector to carry out scientific research and development programmes for animal varieties.

Besides continuing to build safe livestock facilities, Tiến said the livestock industry should attract investment to build high-tech livestock production models to optimise production and create competitive and high-quality livestock products for export.

According to the Department of Livestock Production, the total number of pigs last year was 26.17 million, up 5 per cent year-on-year and the total number of cows was 5.87 million, up 4.2 per cent. The industry produced about 14.5 billion eggs, up 9.5 per cent.

The total output of animal feed was estimated at 20 million tonnes, up 5.6 per cent year-on-year.

The General Department of Customs reported Việt Nam imported 41,500 pig varieties worth US$24.7 million, 301,000 pigs worth $84.6 million, 3.4 million poultry worth $17.9 million and 518,000 live buffalos for slaughtering, worth $556 million.

In 2020, the livestock industry gained a total export value of about $1.2 billion, including $28.5 million from fresh, chilled or frozen pork exports, $1.4 million from eggs, $71.3 million from natural honey, $25.1 million from fresh poultry meat and $28.1 million from processed meat products. It also exported animal feed and raw materials for animal food production worth $789 million.

Tiến said last year, Việt Nam successfully controlled African swine fever helping the pig production industry recover to about 3 million sows and 26 million pigs, reaching 85 per cent of total volume before the African swine fever outbreak. In addition, the country boosted pork imports to make the pork price fall from the end of the third quarter.

Poultry production in 2020 grew by 10 per cent to a record high of 500 million.

Large investment

Meanwhile, the Department of Livestock Production’s Deputy Director Nguyễn Văn Trọng said there was a wave of large enterprises and corporations investing in livestock in 2020.

Many large poultry production companies like Minh Dư, Cao Khanh and Dabaco expanded and upgraded breeding plants with an output of hundreds of millions of poultry each year.

Foreign-invested enterprises and other companies also made large-scale investments in the livestock sector, including Cargill, Japfa, Hòa Phát, Thaco, Mavin, Hùng Nhơn and Tân Long.

Most of the investment projects have a large production scale and use high technology and production chains, aiding the modernisation and sustainable development of the livestock industry, according to the department.

They included CP Việt Nam Joint Stock Company’s $250-million poultry slaughter plant in Bình Phước Province. The plant has a slaughtering output of 50 million chickens in the first phase and 100 million chickens in the second phase, making it the largest chicken production, slaughtering and processing plant in Southeast Asia.

Masan Group’s Masan MEATLife Joint Stock Company put the MEATDeli Saigon Meat Processing Complex into operation in Long An Province with a total capital of VNĐ1.8 trillion. The complex has a designed capacity of 1.4 million pigs per year to produce 155,000 tonnes of chilled meat products and products made from chilled meat. — VNS