1. Introduction
The Vietnamese poultry industry has made significant strides in recent years, contributing to national food security and poverty reduction. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam's chicken meat production in 2023 reached 4.2 million tons, an increase of 6.3% compared to 2022. The poultry industry also employs millions of people, contributing to the country's socio-economic development.
However, the industry still needs to overcome several challenges, exceptionally high production costs and low competitiveness compared to regional and global counterparts. This article analyzes the causes of this situation and proposes solutions to enhance the Vietnamese poultry industry's competitiveness.
2. Factors Contributing to High Poultry Production Costs
Three main factors contribute to higher poultry production costs in Vietnam compared to other countries:
- Small-scale farming: According to the General Statistics Office, in 2023, over 56% of the poultry population was raised in smallholder farms with less than 100 birds. The small scale makes investing in new technologies and disease control challenging, leading to high feed and labor costs and low productivity.
- Lack of linkages in the value chain: The stages in the poultry product value chain operate independently, lacking close linkages, which results in high intermediary costs and pushes up product prices.
- Poor input control: Most medium—and small-scale farms need help controlling the quality of breeding stock, feed, and veterinary drugs, which leads to unstable input costs and affects livestock productivity.
Comparison of Poultry Production Costs in Vietnam with Other Countries:
As a result, the production cost of chicken meat in Vietnam is 20-30% higher than in China and Thailand, and 15% higher than in the USA.
3. Solutions to Enhance Competitiveness
To enhance the competitiveness of the Vietnamese poultry industry, a comprehensive approach is needed, involving the government, enterprises, and farmers:
Government Roles:
- Support the formation of large enterprises: Encourage enterprises to link together along the value chain, from breeding, feed production, livestock farming, to processing and consumption. Provide preferential loans and simplify administrative procedures for enterprises.
- Develop export markets: Expand access to export markets, especially high-value markets like Russia, the EU, and India. Support enterprises in improving product quality to meet international standards.
- Promote scientific and technological application: Support research and application of science and technology in poultry production to improve productivity, product quality, and reduce costs.
Enterprise Roles:
- Adopt science and technology: Apply advanced science and technology in production and processing to enhance productivity, product quality, and cost reduction.
- Strengthen linkages: Collaborate with smallholder farmers to provide technical support, breeding stock, feed, and product procurement.
- Diversify products: Develop high-value specialty products such as colored chickens and organic chickens to meet market demand.
Farmer Roles:
- Expand production scale: Collaborate with enterprises or cooperatives to establish large-scale livestock farms.
- Implement disease prevention measures: Effectively implement disease prevention measures to ensure the health of the flock.
- Use feed efficiently: Utilize feed efficiently to ensure proper nutrition for the flock.
4. Conclusion
The Vietnamese poultry industry has immense growth potential. Enhancing competitiveness requires a collaborative effort from the government, enterprises, and farmers. The industry can achieve sustainable development and significantly contribute to the national economy by implementing these solutions.
This article can serve as a reference for individuals and organizations interested in the Vietnamese poultry industry.
