Four husbandry industry associations have proposed the Government tighten technical barriers on imported meat to support domestic production which has been struggling with soaring imports in recent years.

Several associations in Vietnam have sent a joint letter to the government and National Assembly calling for support to tighten meat import regulations as they are facing threats from the large imports of low-quality meat products.

Vietnam is now importing meat and meat products from 37 markets, the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has said.

Vietnam imported more than 716,000 tonnes of meat and meat products worth US$1.43 billion in 2023, according to the Import and Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Vietnam has reported a rise in illegal meat imports with 131 cases detected in the first nine months of this year, up 14.50 percent on-year.

Vietnam spent a total of US$480.32 million on importing meat and meat products during the first five months of the year, representing a rise of 1.6% in volume but a fall of 9.1% in value compared to the same period from last year.

Tens of thousands of tonnes of low-priced chicken are imported into Vietnam illegally every month, challenging domestic chicken farmers.

Vietnam has imported over 37,000 tons of beef from Australia since 2020, with the northeastern state of Queensland being a key supplier, according to the Trade and Investment Queensland-Vietnam (TIQ Vietnam) Office.