At a press briefing introducing ILDEX Vietnam 2026 on April 24, Pham Kim Dang, Deputy Director of the Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said that most of the world’s high-quality breeds are already present in Vietnam through imports by foreign-invested enterprises. At the same time, the country possesses a diverse pool of indigenous breeds.

Despite years of development, the domestic livestock industry continues to rely significantly on imported genetics.

Vietnam currently ranks fifth globally in pig population and sixth in pork production. Its waterfowl population ranks second in the world. However, according to the Vietnam Livestock Association, in the first six months of 2025 alone, the country spent about US$113 million importing breeding stock.

Explaining this dependence, Dang noted that while breeding animals are imported, critical technical know-how remains with the suppliers. Over time, the genetic quality declines, leading to reduced productivity. The industry must then import new breeding stock to “refresh the bloodline” and sustain performance.

For this reason, the national program on developing the livestock breeding industry to 2030 aims to establish large-scale, industrialized breeding production.

Under the plan, one key target is to build six industrial-scale breeding centers by 2030. These include three pig breeding facilities with 2,000 to 5,000 great-grandparent sows, and three poultry breeding centers with 1,000 to 2,000 pure-line birds and 5,000 to 10,000 grandparent chickens, all meeting standards for synchronized breeding and high uniformity.

Dang added that countries with limited land resources tend not to pursue mass production. Instead, they focus on high-value sectors such as breeding genetics.

“Denmark is a prime example. A single breeding pig from the country can be priced equivalent to hundreds, even thousands, of market hogs. That is the level of value we should aim for. Other developed countries such as France, Canada, and the US have also developed their own pig breeds through crossbreeding and selection from Danish Landrace and Yorkshire lines,” he said.

Vietnam has yet to produce its own distinctive breeding lines due to technological limitations. The development program therefore emphasizes the adoption of advanced genomic selection technologies.

On the policy front, regulatory barriers to breed recognition have also been eased. Previously, breeds could only be recognized if they were the result of scientific research projects. Now, enterprises that can provide sufficient documentation of breeding processes and multi-generation data demonstrating distinct characteristics may have their breeds officially recognized as Vietnamese.

“We hope Vietnam will soon develop its own livestock breeds to reduce input costs related to breeding stock,” Dang said.

The 10th International Livestock, Dairy, Meat Processing and Aquaculture Exposition - ILDEX Vietnam 2026 - will take place from May 20 to 22 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City.

This year’s exhibition will expand in scale, featuring more than 250 companies from over 25 countries and territories. It is expected to attract nearly 10,000 trade visitors over three days.

According to the Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health, specialized exhibitions like ILDEX provide opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to stay updated on technological trends, expand investment partnerships, and access advanced solutions from the global livestock industry.

Tran Chung