Australia exported a record of 68,000 head of cattle to Vietnam in 2013, a surge from around 3,500 it sold in 2012.

According to the Darwin-based South East Asian Livestock Services (SEAL), Vietnam has become the second largest importer of Australia’s live cattle, ranking only after Indonesia.

It attributed the ranking to the country’s quick satisfaction of requirements of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS).

The company forecasts that Vietnam will still be a promising market for Australia’s live cattle export.

It cites the Australia’s Northern Territory’s high hope to soon sell live buffaloes to Vietnam, which is likely to import up to 60,000 ones a year.-VNA