Import of animal feed in July skyrocketed

DNHN - Vietnam's import of raw materials for animal feed processing in the first seven months of this year increased to $3.1 billion as domestic supply only met about one-third of domestic demand.

According to the Department of Livestock Production - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the animal feed industry had to spend nearly $2.7 billion to import corn and soybeans in the first seven months of the year, spending more than $400 million to import other raw materials, including oilseed meal, wheat, fish meal, bone meal, animal protein and a mixture of trace elements.

According to the Department of Livestock Production, domestic production of corn and soybeans only meets about 37% of the demand from the animal feed industry, so in recent years, Vietnam has had to import a large amount of corn and soybeans.

In which, corn imports reached 5.1 million tons in the first 7 months of this year, worth 1.8 billion USD, down 21.9% in volume over the same period but unchanged in value and corn imports in July reached 500,000 tons, worth $191.7 million.

Soybean imports in the first 7 months of the year were 1.3 million tons, worth USD 893.6 million, equal in volume compared to the same period last year but up 22.8% in value. Soybean imports in July reached 250,000 tons, worth 189.4 million USD.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains, including feed ingredients supply chains. Reduced supply and high transportation costs have resulted in higher raw material and finished product costs. In addition, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the world's fourth and largest wheat exporters, is having a major impact on global food supplies and prices, directly affecting corn prices.

The three main soybean suppliers to Vietnam in the first half of this year are Brazil, the United States and Canada, accounting for 99.2% of imports.

The United States has increased production of bioethanol from corn, while South American countries such as Argentina and Brazil have lost their crops due to drought. This has led to a sharp drop in the amount of corn exported on the global market, pushing up corn prices.

From 2013 to now, Vietnam's import turnover of animal feed and raw materials has increased every year, excluding 2017 and 2019. According to Mr. Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, productivity of corn and soybeans of Vietnam is low, while production costs are high, profits are less attractive compared to other crops.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association shared that most of the imported corn is genetically modified corn. Vietnam has also allowed the cultivation of GM corn for many years, but the area planted with GM corn is still low.

According to the agricultural restructuring project implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development over the past 10 years, the agricultural sector has set a goal of converting a part of the land for planting crops with low economic value to planting crops as raw materials. At the same time, the industry focuses on researching corn and soybean varieties to improve productivity. However, up to now, the area planted with these crops has not increased.

TH