Vietnam only meets 42% of domestic milk demand

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According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam spends about 1 billion USD importing milk from the period 2018- 2020. Particularly in 2021, the import turnover of milk and dairy products will reach 1.138 billion USD, up 12.56% compared to 2020.

On average, milk consumption in Vietnam produces about 12 liters of fresh milk, equivalent to about 28 -30 liters per year per person. Meanwhile, the world average is 106-107 liters/person/year.

Vietnam currently has more than 28,000 dairy farms and households raising dairy cows, with a total herd of nearly 375,000 dairy cows; Fresh milk production reached over 1.2 million tons, only meeting about 42% of the milk consumption demand of consumers. 

From that fact, at the Workshop "Using technology to improve the efficiency of dairy farming", Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Kim Giao, Chairman of the Vietnam Large Cattle Breeding Association, said that the potential for developing dairy farming in our country is very large. 

Many development models of dairy farming have been formed in recent years. Recently, Vinamilk cooperated with Son La province to build the project " Moc Chau Milk Paradise Complex ". The project has a total investment of 3,150 billion VND, has a herd of 4,000 dairy cows, is expected to provide 20 million liters of fresh milk per year.

There is high demand, but the development of dairy farming faces some challenges. Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Kim Intersection 4 main issues. Firstly, the tropical monsoon climate and hot, high humidity in Vietnam create great pressure on disease prevention from the outside environment for dairy cows.

Secondly, the people's experience in dairy farming is not much, especially in terms of diets and nutrition for high-yielding dairy cows. The application of advanced and high-tech techniques in dairy farming is limited or uneven.

Third, livestock production is still scattered, when nearly 60% of cows are raised in households, leading to heterogeneous management. This is the main reason why it is difficult to control diseases in dairy cows and the quality of milk produced is unstable and uneven between farms and households.

Fourth, the joint venture, the link between farmers and milk purchasing and processing establishments is not yet strong.

Enhance technology solutions

In addition to the factors mentioned above, the rapid increase in dairy herds puts pressure on the breeding environment. Sharing about this issue, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Kim Giao believes that farmers must strengthen technical and high-tech measures to maximize the potential for milk of livestock and livestock farms.

"According to the general direction of the agricultural industry, dairy farming should proceed to reduce the number of livestock, reduce investment, livestock costs, reduce environmental pollution but increase investment efficiency," said Mr. Giao.

To increase the percentage of milking cows in the herd and increase productivity in a lactation cycle, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Le Thi Thuy - Director of the Vietnam Institute of Livestock Science and Technology presented three advanced technologies including Technology of herd management; Management technology, ensuring the quantity and quality of feed; Technology of Tinh, Embryo sex separation.

From these technologies, Ms. Thuy recommends businesses and people raising dairy cows to pay attention: The temperature in the barn is 5-8 degrees Celsius lower than the outside temperature; Cows are managed with an electronic chip to collect individual health data; Optimum portion mixing with dedicated software is fully automated.

At the workshop, livestock expert Nguyen Duc Dien proposed solutions on the use of tannins in preparations, helping to combat rumen distension syndrome; reduced rumen protozoa and methane emissions...

Affirming the importance of dairy farming in the orientation of livestock development in particular, as well as the agricultural sector in general, Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Livestock Production (MARD) noted that people and businesses pay more attention to building value chains. This is a premise to ensure people's livelihoods, helping dairy farming to develop sustainably.

Source: Bao Thang - nongnghiep.vn