Russia has become the largest supplier of meat to Vietnam

According to the results of the 1st half of 2021, RUSSIA came out on top among countries exporting MEAT to Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Development of the country reported. In addition to Russia, the top 5 meat suppliers included the usa , India, the Netherlands and Poland.

In January-June, Russia exported 61.8 thousand tons of meat to Vietnam, which is 2.6 times more than the same period in 2020, follows from the FCS statistics. The value of exports of meat products increased by 2.5 times to $121 million. shipped to the Socialist Republic 6.1 thousand tons of poultry meat worth $3.4 million and 933 tons of beef worth $1.5 million.

Thus, in the first half of the year, Vietnam became the largest buyer of Russian pork, which accounted for more than half of Russian EXPORT shipments of this type of meat. Including in January-June, 4.3 thousand tons of frozen boneless pork cuts (ham and shoulder), 31 thousand tons of other frozen pork and 19 thousand tons of edible pork offal were sent to the Asian country.

Vietnam is one of the world's largest producers and consumers of pork, but the African swine fever (ASF) epidemic has negatively affected the development of the industry. The first case was reported in February 2019, and within a year the virus had spread to all 63 provinces of the country. By December 2019, about 6 million pigs, or 23% of the total livestock, were slaughtered in the Republic. By early 2020, the authorities said that ASF had been brought under control, however, production volumes have not yet been restored. By December last year, Vietnam's pig population was 27 million, or 88% of its pre-epidemic figure, according to official figures. 

The decline in domestic pork production and the rapid rise in prices led to an increase in the import of pork and pork products from abroad. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Development of Vietnam, in 2020, 141,000 tons of fresh, chilled and frozen pork worth $334 million were imported into the country, which is 3.8 times more than in 2019 in physical terms and 5 times in cost. Significant volumes of import purchases remain in the current year. According to the Vietnamese agricultural department, in January-June 2021, deliveries from abroad amounted to about 70 thousand tons of pork and pork offal.

Russia, which gained access to the Vietnamese pork market at the end of 2019, was able to fully realize the emerging potential. As of June 10, 19 Russian enterprises have been certified for deliveries to Vietnam. In accordance with the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EAEU, from 2020 Russia has zero duties on pork, which creates certain competitive advantages over other supplying countries and helps to increase export volumes.

“Throughout 2020, exports have been actively developing. Moreover, there was an increase in both the number of certified suppliers and the volume of supplies of each individual company,” Yury Kovalev, general DIRECTOR of the National Union of Pig Breeders, told Agroexport. According to him, the main prerequisites were the readiness of the Russian industry to enter the markets of Southeast Asia both in terms of the competitiveness of products and the availability of free volumes, as well as the current Free Trade Agreement.

For the Agro-Belogorye company in the first half of 2021, the Vietnamese market has become the main foreign direction of supplies. The first deliveries of the company's products took place in October last year, and by the end of 2020, more than 300 tons were shipped to the Republic. In the export assortment there was only a by-product line - front and rear legs. In the first half of this year, 2.4 thousand tons were shipped, which is 81% of the holding's total exports. The assortment range was significantly expanded: 13 types of pig products are supplied to the Republic: by-product line, bone products and a valuable piece - shoulder blade and brisket. The plans for the second half of 2021 include a further increase in exports to Vietnam.

“The opening of the Vietnamese market, strategically, is perhaps the most important event for the Russian pig sector over the past few years. Firstly, it allowed many players, including our company, to significantly increase export volumes. Secondly, it is extremely important in terms of reputation. Already now we can say that domestic products have proven themselves well in Vietnam in terms of quality and biosafety, and we also managed to build partnerships with importing companies in a fairly short time. This success now needs to be consolidated, as it can have a positive impact on the negotiations on the Chinese market.– the most important direction for pig products, the opening of which we are all looking forward to,” said Olesya Dmitrova, General Director of the Agro-Belogorye trading house.

The ASF epidemic and the covid-19 pandemic have led to some reduction in pork consumption in Vietnam. According to Euromonitor International, last year the figure fell to its lowest level since 2015 and amounted to 27.4 kg per person. Due to a decrease in demand and the restoration of their own livestock, the state authorities expect that by the end of 2021, pork imports will be less than the volume of 2020. As of June, the number of pigs in the country increased by 11.6%, and meat production since the beginning of the year has exceeded 2 million tons in live weight. At the same time, it is expected that already in 2021 consumption will increase to 28.2 kg per capita per year and will continue to grow until 2024.