July 30, 2015

 

 

A government probe had been called for to investigate possible dumping of below-market priced chicken products by US businesses, into the Vietnamese market.

 

The request was made by the Animal Husbandry Association in southeastern Vietnam and another organisation in the southern province of Dong Nai, both of which had signed petitions and submitted complaints to relevant authorities.

 

Vietnamese poultry companies, fearing bankruptcies if the situation persists, are also supportive of government intervention. Moreover, businesses are forced to sell at losses for the last 11 months, culminating in a total amount of US$45.93 million. 

 

The associations urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Animal Health Department to help facilitate the exports of chicken to Japan, in order to mitigate losses caused by alleged dumping of cheap US products into Vietnam.

 

According to one report, chicken legs from the States are priced at US$0.9/kg in the local market, compared to US$1.5/kg in 2013. Representatives from the Animal Husbandry Association also found out that these products are, in fact, four to five times more costly in the US than prices in Vietnam, despite claims by the Vietnamese minister of agriculture that chicken legs are not as popular as chicken breasts in the American market. 

 

 "Chicken legs in US supermarkets fetch US$3.2-US$3.6/kg, compared to US$0.92/kg in Vietnam," said Le Van Quyet, the deputy chairman of Animal Husbandry Association. "It is unreasonable that US chicken legs in Vietnam, with all taxes and fees included, still cost only a quarter of what they are priced at home."

 

Le Thanh Phuong, the director of Emivest Vietnam Co, warned that local husbandry sector faces serious challenges if sales of cheap imports continue. He added that chicken imports constitutes about 40% of poultry raised domestically.

 

"The husbandry sector hopes that the government will restrict imports of chicken, but we don't know how long it can survive," Nguyen Van Ngoc, the deputy chairman of Animal Husbandry Association, said.