According to the latest statistics of the General Department of Customs, from January 1 to October 15, 2021 , the whole country imported 13,542,322 tons of wheat, corn and soybeans, worth US$4.328 billion, over the same period last year. 2020 will increase by 2.42% in volume but up to 1.39 times in value. It is forecasted that imports of these materials will continue to increase in the coming time.
Wheat, corn and soybeans are mainly imported from the US, Australia, Argentina and Brazil
In the first nine months of this year, Australia was the main supplier of wheat to Vietnam, accounting for 73% of the total volume and total import turnover of wheat of the country, with over 2.7 million tons, equivalent to about 2.7 million tons. equivalent to 785.26 million USD.
At the same time, Argentina is also the main market supplying corn to Vietnam, importing maize from this market reached 4.01 million tons, equivalent to 1.21 billion USD, accounting for 52.3% of the total volume and accounting for 55.7% of the total corn import turnover of the country.
The US and Brazil are the two main soybean supplying markets for Vietnam. In the first 9 months of this year, soybean imports from the US reached 748,706 tons, equivalent to US$423.89 million, accounting for 48% of the country's total soybean import volume and turnover.
Soybean imports from Brazil reached 702,290 tons, equivalent to US$408.82 million, accounting for over 46% of the country's total soybean import volume and turnover.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Vietnam has increased imports of corn as a feed ingredient to serve the meat industry, which has grown by nearly 30% over the past decade. This makes Vietnam the largest corn importer in Southeast Asia and it is forecasted that by 2022 Vietnam will still be the fifth largest corn importer globally.
The domestic production of maize started to increase in the 1980s, and this trend has continued to increase strongly from 2015 until now.
Maize production has been decreasing and decreasing gradually due to the decrease in domestic production activities, so it is weak in competitiveness compared to imported corn in both cost and quality, leading to Vietnam's discouragement for expansion. corn area.
According to USDA International Agricultural Trade Report, aquaculture and other animals or species are expanding in Vietnam, and creating more opportunities for exporters of feed ingredients, seafood into this potential market.
It is forecasted that Vietnam's import demand for corn and grain by-products for animal feed will continue to increase, with a threefold increase in the next 10 years. In which, corn accounts for the majority, the rest is wheat and barley, which is reflected in the trend in the meat industry and Vietnam will be a "powerful import of animal feed" globally.
There is a "very painful" question from voters
As a "top" food producer and exporter, but Vietnam is also a country that relies heavily on raw materials for production of animal and aqua feeds imported from abroad, and every year, both in volume and quantity are increasing. import value.
This problem is not new, but it was not until the COVID-19 epidemic occurred, the global supply chain was broken throughout the country, that it was clear that the autonomy of the economy was not high, and the livestock industry itself used the word 60% or even 80% of raw materials are imported to produce aqua feed and animal feed.
It is time for Vietnam to have a strategy to develop domestic feed ingredients in a basic and methodical way.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Le Minh Hoan said that there is a "very painful" question from voters that is:
“Vietnam is proud to be an agricultural country, corn and soybeans can be produced domestically, but why do we still have to spend billions of dollars each year to import for animal feed and aqua feed?
When voters posed this problem, it made us - agricultural workers to think to find a solution, what can get out, we will get out and what can't get out, we have to accept and find out. how to adapt”.
According to Minister Hoan, in the past, like Vietnam, China had to import raw materials for animal and aquaculture feeds from the US, Brazil, India, etc. until the COVID-19 epidemic occurred in the global supply chain. fault, leading to a price shock that caused the agricultural industry to wobble. By this time China had turned all of its agriculture to self-reliance in order to reduce its dependence on foreign imports.
At present, they have begun to promote domestic production and develop circular agriculture to gradually replace imported raw materials for livestock, and agricultural production such as inorganic fertilizers, converted plant protection drugs. to use organic fertilizers and biological products that can be done in the country.
“A circular economy is a zero-waste economy, all the waste and agricultural waste will be an input to another industry, some of which can become inputs for food. livestock, aquatic products and making biological products. So can we do it?", Mr. Hoan asked.
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