VIETNAM NEWS SERVICE
22/11/2006
Animal feed manufacturers nationwide have produced more than 4.2 million tonnes of feed since the beginning of the year, earning a combined revenue of VND17 trillion (US$1.1 billion), according to the Viet Nam Feed Association.
About VND9.3 trillion ($580 million) worth of raw materials for producing animal feed were imported from abroad, the association reported, including energy and protein additives, spices, fish powder and mineral salts that could not be produced locally.
Domestic sources of materials now satisfy only 70 per cent of demand, said the deputy director of the Livestock Production Department, Hoang Kim Giao, with the result that Viet Nam's animal feed prices were always 10-20 per cent higher than those in some other countries in the region.
Giao said that the domestic animal feed industry needed to take full advantage of available raw materials, as well as minimise inland transportation costs.
Dependence on imports was impeding stable growth and lessening the competitive capacity of enterprises, he said.
