Vietnam Chicken Farms Hurt by China-sourced Substandard Chickens

Vietnam’s chicken farms have been hurt as substandard and smuggled Chinese chickens are flooding the local markets, state media reported. Due to a high supply of China-sourced chickens, local farmers couldn’t sell their stock. Prices of locally-raised chickens fell to below the production costs, media reported. Most Chinese chickens in the market are old hens which contain high residues of antibiotics and growth stimulants, said experts. Some Vietnamese farmers also raise Chinese chicks which affect the high-quality reputation of the local varieties.
Vietnamese farmers also buy Chinese feed which has lower quality than feed produced by U.S.-invested and Thailand-invested firms. Chickens raised with Chinese feed have low quality, farmers said. In many places, traders are cheating buyers, selling Chinese chickens under local brands, farmers said. (baodatviet.vn Jan 8)