Shoppers choose meat products at Big C Supermarket in Ha Noi. Viet Nam will conduct examinations to find out whether US producers are dumping cheap chicken legs into the country's market. — VNS Photo Thai Ha

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Government has required relevant ministries and organisations to clarify whether US producers are selling cheap frozen chicken legs on the Vietnamese market.

Minister-Chairman of the Office of Government Nguyen Van Nen said that more thorough examinations were needed as part of integration commitments with the world economy.

He added that a conclusion could not be simply based on initial information.

The challenge was raised by livestock associations in Dong Nai Province and the Southeast Region.

They have asked the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to open an investigation into the alleged dumping.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and several other ministries were at present collecting information.

According to findings of Dong Nai Province Livestock Association, the prices of chicken legs in US supermarkets ranged between VND50,000 ($2.30) to VND80,000 ($3.70) per kilogram while a kilogram of the imported chicken legs from the US to Viet Nam cost merely VND20,000 (92 cents).

Association president Nguyen Chi Cong in an interview with vnplus.vn said the price gaps sounded unreasonable, calling for early action to handle increasingly harsh competition from imported meat, especially as the Trans-Pacific Partnership nears completion.

The Southeast Region Livestock Association, whose members sell about eight million chickens a month, said the American imports caused them to lose about VND500 billion ($22.93 million) in the first half of this year.

Viet Nam imported around 100,000 tones frozen poultry meat per year. Imported chicken meat was equivalent to one third of the total domestic chicken meat output. — VNS