Veterinarians check the quality of pork at a market in Ha Noi. The price of pork has been high for a long time due to the African swine fever's damage on local herds. — VNA/VNS Photo

About 1,500 tonnes of pork imported from Russia arrived at the Cat Lai, Hai Phong and Phuoc Long ports of Viet Nam, which is expected to meet domestic demand in both quality and competitive price.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Phung Duc Tien, relevant agencies are completing procedures for quarantine and customs clearance of the pork.

Tien said Viet Nam agreed to import 3,500 tonnes of pork from Russian food supplier Miratorg. The remaining 2,000 tonnes are being transported to Viet Nam.

In a meeting with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, the representative of Miratorg said the firm would meet the demand of pork in Viet Nam in terms of quality and price.

Miratorg is a big food producer in Russia, with a capacity of about 500,000 tonnes of pork per year.

Miratorg has signed contacts with 15 Vietnamese businesses to distribute pork in the market.

“The import of pork is seen a solution to ease pressure on domestic supply [due to African swine fever] and decrease the price, which has been at a high level for a long time,” Tien said.

He said the ministry proposed relevant ministries and agencies support Vietnamese businesses seeking sources of pork from importing countries, while considering policies to reduce import tax for pork.

“In the future, we can import more pork from Germany, the US, Brazil and especially firms from Russia,” he added.

Statistics from MARD show that Viet Nam has imported more than 25,300 tonnes of pork and pork products since early this year, up 205 per cent year-on-year. Of the figure, nearly 30 per cent came from Canada, 20 per cent from Germany, 12 per cent from Poland, 10 per cent Brazil and 6 per cent from the US. — VNS