Vinamilk imports 2,000 heads of US dairy cattle

The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) has imported more than 2,000 cows from the US.

The cows were sent to Vinamilk’s Tay Ninh cow farm, bringing the total number of cows at the farm to nearly 5,000. Following the import, the Tay Ninh cow farm has become Vinamilk’s largest cow farm, covering 700ha and using high technology to raise cows.

All of the imported heads are high-yield Holstein Friesian cows, producing 14,000 liters of milk in 305 days. They were carefully selected and underwent strict quarantine and health checks before arriving in Vietnam.

The Tay Ninh farm will welcome more imported cattle this year and increase its herd to 8,000 heads.

The total number of cows supplying milk to the company, including from Vinamilk’s own farms and from farmers it has signed contracts with, is more than 120,000, supplying about 750 tons of fresh milk each day.

The company plans to increase its herd to 160,000 this year and 200,000 by 2020. Its daily fresh milk output is targeted to reach 1,500-1,800 tonnes over the next three years.

Vietnam’s leading dairy producer signed a memorandum of cooperation with a Chinese partner on May 12 to export dairy products to Vietnam’s northern neighbor. The signing was witnessed by senior Chinese leaders and visiting State President Tran Dai Quang, who was in China from May 11 to 15 on a State visit.

China is a huge market, with a total dairy value of about $30 billion a year. Vinamilk hopes that the memorandum will be an opportunity to export dairy products in the near future, when a trade agreement between the two countries is signed.

Vinamilk is the largest dairy firm in Vietnam, with a market share of more than 50 per cent, and is among the world’s Top 50 milk producers by revenue.

It earned export revenue of $258 million in 2016, exporting to 43 countries and territories worldwide, including the US, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines.