Consumers in Vietnam go ‘hog wild’ for pork
Vietnam has a population of approximately 93 million people with, according to official reports, an average pork consumption of about 20 kg per capita annually that is on a trajectory to double over the next few years. The nation’s pork production ranks sixth on a global scale, but the industry on the whole suffers incredulously from lack of productivity with some experts estimating it is half that of the EU. Lower productivity stems from a mix of key factors – inferior genetics, extensive disease, inadequate biosecurity, poor feed conversion ratios and fertility/sow management, compounded by inefficient slaughtering and processing operations. With an estimated two thirds of the population classified as farmers most hogs in Vietnam have been bred and finished in small herd sizes of one to five sows and less than 20 finishers, and most are slaughtered at small scale butchers’ locations, oftentimes a home.
