US tops H1 chicken exports to Vietnam

By Anh Tu August 20, 2019 | 03:30 am PT

The main types of meat imported from the U.S. were drumsticks, wings, feet and ground meat. Photo acquired by VnExpress.

The U.S. was the largest exporter of chicken to Vietnam in the first half of this year, at around 62,400 tons or over $48.6 million.

This accounted for 44 percent of Vietnam’s chicken imports.

The U.S. was followed by South Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, Brazil and Russia, Vietnam Customs data show.

The main types of meat imported from the U.S. were drumsticks, wings, feet and ground meat. Drumsticks topped in volume at 59,500 tons valued at $45.2 million.

The average import price of VND22,420 (96 cents) per kilogram was lower than domestic prices which ranged between VND35,000-70,000 ($1.5-3).

Nguyen Van Trong, deputy head of the department of livestock production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Americans prefer chicken breasts, therefore other body parts such as drumsticks and wings are exported at lower prices, while Vietnamese like these parts.

Vietnam imported almost 142,200 tons of chicken worth over $120 million in the first half of this year, up 41.6 percent in value, according to Vietnam Customs.