In the past 10 years, the average growth rate of livestock sector has reached 6-7 per cent per year. — Photo heo.com.vn

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) – More foreign investors are pouring money into Viet Nam's livestock industry as it has seen stable annual growth rate of seven per cent in recent years.

In the past 10 years, the average growth rate of livestock sector has reached 6-7 per cent per year, according to a report from the Department of Livestock Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The report was released at the Livestock 2014 Expo and Forum which has been currently organised in HCM City.

Last year, the total amount of meat production was 4.33 million tonnes, up from 1.83 million tonnes in 2000.

Milk production rose from 64,000 million tonnes in 2000 to 456,000 million last year.

The livestock industry has seen significant improvements in recent years, shifting from traditional small and scattered households to industrial livestock farms with slaughtering systems.

These changes have resulted in higher levels of hygiene and food safety, with less environmental pollution, said Hoang Thanh Van, director general of MARD's Department of Livestock Production.

Thanks to these achievements, foreign companies have shown greater interest in the industry, as shown at Vietstock 2014 where attendees included 250 industry-leading local, regional and international suppliers from 30 countries.

Of the participants at Vietstock, 15 companies were from the Netherlands.

Arie Veldhuizen, agricultural counsellor at the Netherlands Embassy in Viet Nam, told Viet Nam News that the country had been carrying out two agricultural projects in Viet Nam.

He noted that Viet Nam was one of the world's largest producers of pork meat, but quality and standards in the industry, as well as the entire agricultural field, could be improved.

He added that Netherlands had experience in this area, and that the 15 Dutch companies at Vietstock had expertise, know-how and technologies that could be used in livestock production, meat and feed processing, all of which are priority sectors for the Netherlands in Viet Nam.

Along with the Netherlands, companies from other countries such as the Czech Republic and Denmark as well as countries in Asia presented new technologies at VietStock. They also sought partnerships with Vietnamese companies.

A Danish company at VietStock said it would supply a Vietnamese company with technology and know-how to help them raise pigs and increase productivity.

Companies at Vietstock said their investment in Viet Nam would be further expanded after the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and EU is signed.

Many factories and modern farms are expected to be built as more foreign investors inject money into the field. — VNS