The dairy industry's revenues grew at 12.7 percent a year on average in 2010-18, and the momentum is expected to continue thanks to an increase in milk consumption in the country, according to the Vietnam Dairy Association.

 

According to the association’s report at a conference on the dairy industry held on the sidelines of the on-going Vietnam International Milk and Dairy Products Exhibition, per capita milk consumption went up from 15 litres per person in 2010 to 27 litres last year.

 

The association’s chairman Tran Quang Trung said in anticipation of free trade agreements, local dairy firms have in the past five years invested boldly in their dairy farms and cattle and imported advanced technology for their plants.

 

According to Trung, local firms can now manage their entire chain from raw materials to the final products by using advanced technology.

 

He said the industry is seeing the appearance of many new milk processing plants equipped with advanced technologies that can compete with the global milk industry.

 

They have also invested in producing organic and seed milk and speciality products for different groups of consumers, hoping to capitalize on market demand, Trung said.

 

He said thanks to improving quality, Vietnam exported milk and dairy products worth 250-300 million USD a year to 43 countries and territories, including the US, France, Canada, Poland, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Procedures have also been completed to export to China starting this year, he said.

 

There had also been a decrease in milk and dairy imports in recent years due to the increase in domestic production.

 

But the association admitted since domestic production only met 40 percent of demand, the imports would continue.

 

At another seminar also held on the sidelines of the exhibition, Nguyen Thuy Duong from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said free trade agreements had opened up opportunities for dairy firms to enhance their market share both at home and abroad.

 

But they would continue to face challenges and this required them to diversify their products, develop new ones, including special nutritional products, and improve quality and packaging, she said.

 

The Vietnam International Milk and Dairy Products Exhibition will open until June 2.-VNA