Ho Chi Minh City (VNS/VNA) – Close cooperation between companies,co-operatives, farms, and households is needed to restructure the livestockindustry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, acting general director of the ministry’s department oflivestock production, said that it was necessary to develop co-operation chainsto promote the livestock sector with the four segments playing a key role.

With the establishment of the chains, all processes like production, processingand marketing would be well regulated, he said.

Farmers would produce based on demand from companies who would also providethem with information about supply in the market, designs, labels, standards,and exports markets, he explained.

As the chains are developed, modern technologies would be applied to cut costsand boost productivity, and profits would be shared between the various playersto avoid price squeezes, he said, adding their cooperation would also helpensure food hygiene.

According to the department, the ministry would this year review implementationof the 2008-19 National Livestock Strategy.

In this strategy, the livestock industry would be restructured with thebreeding of cattle, sheep and goats developed to reduce the scale of pigbreeding.

The areas for breeding will also be changed, with the pressure on the Red RiverDelta and southeastern region eased, according to the department.

Breeding areas will be developed in the central and Central Highlands regions,which are highly suitable for raising cattle and poultry.

With the restructure, exports are expected to expand. The export market hasgreat potential with many major companies involved in it.

The department forecast exports of livestock and dairy products to stronglydevelop from 2020 onwards.

Restructuring the livestock industry has become necessary since it has beenseverely hit by African swine fever, which has killed three million or 10 percentof the country’s pigs.

But thanks to good preparation and timely solutions, the pressure on theindustry has eased, and there is enough food to supply the domestic and exportmarkets.

The solutions include increasing supply of alternative meats like poultry andcattle and seafood. Measures to support pig farmers have also been taken byauthorities.-VNS/VNA