What solution to save poultry industry?

In light of the above situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recently organized a conference to find solutions for poultry farming. Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), spoke with reporters from various media outlets about this conference.

Reporter: Sir, could you please tell us the reason why the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development... Why are they holding a poultry conference at this time?

Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh : This is a very difficult time for the livestock industry, especially poultry farming. In the past two years, both the inputs and outputs of the livestock industry have faced difficulties; in particular, the prices of agricultural supplies have increased significantly, especially the price of animal feed.

Meanwhile, poultry meat and eggs are crucial products for Vietnam's food security system. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a conference on poultry to facilitate exchange among stakeholders and find solutions to overcome the current difficulties facing the livestock industry, including poultry farming.

PV: The livestock industry, including poultry farming, has faced numerous difficulties and disadvantages in recent years. So, in your opinion, what fundamental solutions do we need?

Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh: One of the key directions for the livestock industry, and a concern not only for the livestock industry but also for the entire agricultural sector, is the issue of product consumption. Currently, the livestock industry has an important direction as we have abolished the law on planning for specific products, leaving only national, regional, and provincial socio-economic planning. Therefore, the Department of Livestock has advised incorporating livestock units into the assessment of livestock density. This is an important scientific and technological factor in forming and shaping livestock planning, but not through conventional planning; instead, it uses economic and technical indicators to establish concentrated livestock farming areas.

In the coming period, we must better and more effectively control supply and demand in livestock farming. One of the effective solutions is to accelerate the implementation of digital transformation in livestock farming. Through digital transformation, we can manage and monitor the entire production chain and the availability of products, thereby enabling us to better forecast market supply and demand.

PV: Sir, there's a long-standing paradox: even when livestock prices sometimes drop, causing losses for farmers, the price of poultry products reaching consumers doesn't decrease correspondingly; in fact, consumers often still have to pay high prices.

Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh: This is indeed a problem we will have to strive to solve in the coming time. It is true that the benefits and profits in livestock farming are unevenly distributed among the different stages: farmers, slaughterhouses, processors, and distributors. Large profits are usually found in the distribution, circulation, and slaughtering stages, while farmers often enjoy low profits.

To solve this problem, the role of the state is truly needed, involving various ministries and sectors, not only the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development but also the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Health, etc., to ensure a more appropriate allocation of the value chain, helping livestock farmers overcome difficulties and giving them the motivation to maintain production and supply food for us.

Experience in some countries shows that consumers can buy any product at market price, while services are only charged an additional 10% of the product's value.

PV: Given the economic difficulties our country has faced since the end of 2022, the situation of unemployment and job losses among workers in industrial zones, especially in industrial zones in the southern provinces and cities, has made the consumption of livestock products even more difficult due to rising input costs, sir?

Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh: I agree with this point of view as reported by the press. Yes, our production capacity is indeed very high right now. Farmers are very quick to adopt scientific and technological advancements in breeding, animal feed, and farming processes. After the African swine fever outbreak, we shifted part of our pig farming to poultry farming. This ensures two things: It helps to better manage poultry diseases than we were dealing with African swine fever; and environmental issues related to poultry farming are much simpler than those in pig farming (per unit of product).

Another factor is the very fast turnover rate of poultry farming, with colored-feathered chickens having 5-5.5 breeding cycles per year; the production capacity of poultry farming is very large: In 2022, we imported up to 3.4 million parent birds (exceeding the previous year's figure of only about 2 million).

Since 2022, due to various factors, consumer demand for commercial poultry products has decreased, causing difficulties for poultry farmers.

PV: What are your expectations for this conference organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development?

Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh: We also aim to make the coordination between state management agencies and the private sector, especially associations representing the legitimate rights and interests of partners participating in the livestock production chain, more effective from now on.

We also expect to strengthen coordination, cooperation, and intra-bloc production linkages among breeders, feed producers, livestock farmers, veterinarians, slaughterhouses, processors, distributors, and retailers... We will cooperate under the guidance of the association, thereby reducing input costs by at least 10% or more and addressing output issues.

In particular, livestock farmers must organize themselves into production cooperatives with businesses in order to create a supply chain and value chain in livestock production.

PV: Thank you very much, sir!

NGUYEN KIEM (compiled)

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