Vietnam produces around four million tonnes of rice bran a year frommilling rice, but since no rice bran extract is produced domestically,animal-feed producers depend completely on imports.

According tothe customs department, feed producers imported 267,000 tonnes of riceand wheat bran as of April 23, almost a third more year-on-year, at acost of 55 million USD.

The Vietnam Animal Feed Association saidfirms want to use domestic rice bran, but cannot since bran oxidises andcurdles within a few days. The decomposition of its nutritivesubstances can have a harmful impact on animals, poultry, fish andshrimp, it said.

The rice bran extract – which they import mostlyfrom India and Indonesia – costs more than bran, but Vietnam does notproduce the former.

The extraction of oil from bran does not change its protein content, but can increase its shelf-life by up to six months.

NguyenDang Vang, Chairman of the Vietnam Animal Breeding Association, saidfor other high-protein items like soybean, fishmeal, and palm kernelmeal too, the country has to depend on imports.

Last year Vietnam imported 750,000 tonnes of rice bran, rice bran extraction and wheat bran.

NguyenThanh Binh, deputy chairman of the feed industry association, said thecountry has for long been contented with the increase in exports of riceand other farm produce, forgetting that it also spends a lot of moneyto import animal-feed inputs.

"We can use items available in the domestic market to produce feed," he told Saigon Tiep Thi newspaper.

Vietnamearned 2.95 billion USD from rice exports but spent 4 billion USD toimport animal feed and inputs for feed production last year, accordingto the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Industry experts said the country needs to take steps to develop local production of animal-feed inputs.-VNA