Improving competitiveness of pig producers in an adjusting Vietnam market: Key findings

1. Improving competitiveness of pig producers in an adjusting Vietnam market: Key findings Ma. Lucila A. Lapar On behalf of the Project Team Stakeholder Consultation Workshop Hanoi School of Public Health, Hanoi, 20 May 2011

2. Demand for pork in Vietnam • Vietnamese consumers have a strong preference for fresh, unchilled pork; this provides natural protection from imported pork. • The majority of Vietnamese consumers indicated preference for lean pork compared to other types of pork. • No significant change in lean meat consumption from 10 years ago, but significant reduction in consumption of high fat meat from 10 years ago. • Traditional market outlets remain the most preferred purchase outlets for fresh pork by Vietnamese consumers.

3. Emerging concerns of food safety Nearly half the consumers (43%) had concerns about pork. Most common was fear of disease from pork, followed by fear of chemical contamination, un-fresh pork, and bad smell. Only 1% expressed nutritional concerns. Other previous studies have shown the importance of breed and origin preferences.

4. Consumer response to pig disease outbreak • About half of consumers either stop or reduce pork consumption; about one-third substitute other meats. • More consumers in HCMC than in Hanoi shift to modern outlets for pork.

5. Risk assessment findings Although hazards were high, pork consumers report low levels of gastro-intestinal disease (1 episode/person/year). There is no association between amount of pork consumed and incidence of gastro-intestinal disease (p=0.60). Pork from wet-markets had higher compliance with international food safety standards than pork from super-markets

6. Hazard Assessment s s ns ns ns

7. Competitiveness of HH pig producers • Household-based pig production is profitable; it can generate profits ranging from 4,000 to 15,000 VND/kg liveweight of pig produced. • Feed accounts for the largest share of productioncosts. • HH pig producersuse a higher proportion of low-cost own-produced feed; thus facilitating improvement in efficiency. • Apart from piglet production, increasing scale of production is not necessarily more efficient.

8. Future scenario for pig sector • Modern pig sector is very small • Large-scale modern producers are just 5% of national production • Modern sector will remain small over the next decade • Modern sector 5-10% of pig production over next 10 years except under extreme assumptions • In worst-case scenario for traditional sector, modern sector grows 10-fold but still only reaches 12% of total production

9. Contributions to household income and employment • Income from pigs accounts for about 14% of rural household income, or 24% of rural household income from agriculture. • Producers receive at least half to two-thirds of the retail price of pork. This share increases with scale. • HHpig production generates employment estimated at about 4 million full-time labor along the pork supply chain, valued at about $3.3 billion or approximately 5.5% of Vietnam’s GDP in 2007. • Household labor constitutes the main labor inputs in household pig production. • Women labor accounts for at least half of total labor days in household pig production.

10. Benefits generated for various actors where household producers participate Value added generated in pork value chains where household pig producers participate is about 11,700 VND per kg liveweight (or $0.62)