Cheap imported chickens leave poultry farmers in a flap

Cheap imported US chickens have created drastic losses for poultry farmers in the southern province of Dong Nai, as heard at a meeting of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA), the Southeast Livestock Association and the provincial livestock association in the locality on August 13.

According to the Southeast Livestock Association, about 50,000 tonnes of chickens were shipped to Vietnam in the first six months of the year, 70 percent of which were from the US market.

The fact that frozen US chicken thighs are priced at 20,000 VND (0.93 USD) per kilogramme in Vietnam is illogical as they are sold at between 70,000- 80,000 VND (3.26- 3.72 USD) in US supermarkets, the association said, adding that each kilogramme should be sold at at least 24,000- 25,000 VND (1.12-1.16 USD) to cover the cost of grain feed, which makes up 60-70 percent of total expenditure.

Chicken parts imported to Vietnam every month are the equivalent of 3 million whole chickens, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the domestic supply.

Since mid-2014, 5,000 farms breeding 14.4 million fowls nationwide have lost over 1.3 trillion VND (60.5 million USD). Over 3,000 farms with over 8 million fowls in the southeast region incur a loss of 80-90 billion VND (3.7- 4.2 million USD) every month.

Le Van Quyet, Vice Chairman of the Southeast Livestock Association, said that poultry farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy with the inability to pay back their 15 trillion VND (697.7 million USD) in bank loans with the prolonged significant losses.

The association recommended tightened control of frozen chicken imports while encouraging the purchase of whole chickens instead of wings and thighs, given Americans prefer chicken breasts and the other parts are often wasted.

The VCA will report the issue to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Government for specific solutions.-VNA