Pork imports surge 382 percent

By Thuy Tien February 7, 2021 | 03:51 pm PT

Pork products at a Coopmart supermarket in Cong Quynh Street, District 1, HCMC, March 31, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.

Vietnam has imported 141,140 tons of pork and related products in 2020, up 382 percent year-on-year, the General Department of Vietnam Customs has reported.

The import value in 2020 increased 503 percent to $334.44 million, it said.

The rising pork imports are attributed to the low domestic supply caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, African swine fever, and the central Vietnam floods, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Brazil is the largest pork supplier with 24.5 percent of the total pork import value, followed by Russia with 24.1 percent and the U.S. with 13.7 percent.

Over 800 enterprises from 19 markets have been allowed to export pork to Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.