HISTORY OF THE DAIRY SECTOR IN VIETNAM
As dairy farming is not traditional in Vietnam, there are no dedicated dairy breeds hereof. Dairy farming was first introduced to Vietnam at the beginning of the 20th century. Experiencing historical ups and downs, dairy farmers have considerably contributed to ensure food supply. However, it was not until 1990 that dairy farming has become a real goods production.
Below are the milestones of the dairy sector in Vietnam:
1920 - 1923
The French introduced tropical cows like Red Sindhi (Sin for short) and Ongle (Bo for short) to Tan Son Nhat, Saigon and Hanoi for trial and milk production for French people living in Vietnam.
Low number: 300 heads.
Low milk yield: 2-3kg/cow/day.
1937 – 1942
South:
Several dairy farms were established in Saigon-Chợ Lớn.
Daily milk production: thousands of litres; annual milk production: 360 tons.
6 breeds imported to the south: Jersey, Ongole, Red Sindhi, Tharpara, Sahiwal and Haryana.
The Australian government helped build purebred Jersey dairy cow centre in Ben Cat (Number: 80 cows) -> dissolved due to the war.
Crossbred dairy cows and tropical dairy cows were raised in private, small-scale farms (10-20 heads) in Tan Binh, Go Vap, Thu Duc.
1954 - 1960
North:
Animal husbandry, esp. dairy farming received concern of the State.
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Pres. Phidel Castro - Cuba (right) offered the Vietnam government an HF bull in MONCADA
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State-owned farms were built up in Ba Vi (Ha Tay), Moc Tay (Son La), Than Uyen (Nghia Lo), Tam Duong (Lao Cai), Huu Nghi (Quang Ninh), Ha Trung (Thanh Hoa)… together with breed and farming know-hows research stations.
1960: Beijing black-and-white dairy cows were first introduced to Vietnam for trial in Ba Vi, Sapa and Moc Chau.
1970s: The Cuban Government aided Vietnam with 1000 HF cows for trial in Moc Chau and to build MONCADA specializing in producing frozen semen.
1970s
Imported Murrah dairy buffaloes from India to be raised in Phung Thuong, Song Be and some other regions -> current number: low due to buffaloes’ poor performance.
From 1976: Some HF dairy cows were raised in Duc Trong (Lam Dong).
Ho Chi Minh and southern provinces developed crossbreeding and dairy farming.
Beginning of 1980s: dairy cattle were raised only in state-owned farms and centres (Common scale: several hundreds of cows, Moc Chau Farm: largest farm with about 1000 cows).
Due to lack of experience, improper management, difficulties in processing and comsumption, many farms were dissolved -> the herd decreased rapidly
1985 - 1987
Raised imported purebred cows, crossbred Dutch-Indian cows (HF x Laisind) and “Sinnized” native yellow cows.
1985-1987: Imported Sin bulls and cows from Pakistan to be raised in Vietnam-Mongolian farm and MONCADA (Ba Vi, Ha Tay).
1987: Imported Sahiwal from Pakistan to be raised in MONCADA and Middleland breeder centre (Ninh Hoa, Khanh Hoa).
Imported frozen semen of Jersey and brown Swiss cows to crossbreed with Laisind cows, yellow cows and F1, F2 cows (HF x Laisind) -> due to poor milk yield and unpopular hair color, it did not develop any longer.
1986 - 1999
1986: The number of dairy cattle increased in Ho Chi Minh, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An, Hanoi suburbs and surrounding provinces.
1986-1999: Average dairy development rate: 11% annually.
Private dairy farming: founded and appeared to make profit.
2001
Passed Decision 167/2001/QD/TTg about dairy development in the period 2001-2010.
2001-2004: Some provinces (Ho Chi Minh, An Giang, Binh Duong, Thanh Hoa, Tuyen Quang, Son La, Hoa Binh, Ha Nam…) imported over 10,000 HF cows from Australia, the USA and New Zealand and a number of Jersey cows from the USA and New Zealand.
Cows number and milk production in Vietnam after 1990
Source: Agriculture Department (2005), Department of Livestock Production (2006)
Of the entire herd, 75% is in Ho Chi Minh and the surrounding provinces like Lam Dong, Binh Duong, Long An and so on. 20% is in the north and less than 2% is in the middle land and over 2% is in the highland. Presently dairy farming is mainly family business (95%), the others are state-owned business and partnership
In conclusion, dairy farming developed strongly from 1990 to 2004, esp. after the issuance of Decision 167. However, the domestic milk production can currently account for only 20-25% of milk consumption, the rest is imported. After a “too hot” development of several years, dairy development has slowed down and come to a standstill since 2005, exposing some difficulties and weaknesses, esp. in goods macro-management and in modern large-scale farm management.
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Introduction
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