HCM CITY (VNS) — Viet Nam exported US$205 million of animal feed and animal-feed raw materials in the first half of the year, an increase of 22.1 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Department of Custom.

During this period, China was the largest importer of Viet Nam's animal feed and raw materials with an import value of $62.3 million, followed by Cambodia with $45.8 million, Malaysia with $26.6 million and Japan with $18.3 million.

Viet Nam's companies have exported animal feed and raw materials to more than 10 markets, mostly in Asia.

The US was the only market outside Asia that imported Viet Nam's animal feed and raw materials. The US imported $756,000 of Viet Nam's animal feed and raw materials.

A large quantity of the exported animal feed and raw materials are being temporarily imported for re-export, Pham Duc Binh, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Animal Feed Association, was quoted as saying in the Nong Nghiep Viet Nam (Viet Nam Agriculture) newspaper.

Many companies have imported raw materials like soybeans and then re-exported them to other countries, he explained.

However, animal feed and raw materials produced in Viet Nam accounted for a significant amount of these exports, he said.

According to Viet Nam's animal feed producers, Cambodia is the export market with the most potential for made-in-Viet Nam animal feed and raw materials.

Cambodia's livestock sector is developing, but the country's animal feed industry has not met domestic demand, they said. — VNS