American chickens have an advantage over their Vietnamese counterparts, due to US technology in that sector and the low cost of exporting unsold chicken pieces to Vietnam.

While the price of imported whole chickens to Vietnam is equal to or higher than the price of domestic chickens, US chicken pieces are sold for much lower. Domestic chicken wings cost 48,000-50,000 dong (Bt114 to Bt118) per kilogram, while American chicken wings are sold at almost half that price, 28,000 dong. Imported chicken legs are sold at a reasonable 32,000 dong per pack (0.7-0.8kg).

Nguyen Hoang Duong Ltd in Hanoi has been the only company importing chickens from the US for the Hanoi market for the last seven or eight months. Company director Nguyen Trong Thai said he immediately thought of US partners when the bird-flu outbreak pushed up chicken prices in Vietnam.

"The US is renowned for its poultry industry," said Thai.

During the time of "chicken fever", tens of tonnes of chicken from Nguyen Hoang Duong were sold to Hanoi supermarkets, excluding Big C and Metro Cash and Carry, which have their own suppliers.

"In the future, when Vietnam joins the [World Trade Organisation], the price of US chickens on the Vietnamese market is likely to fall 15-20 per cent. We're considering increasing the amount we import," said Thai.

The US has a modern and large-scale chicken industry based on advanced technology, while Vietnam still operates mainly along the lines of small-scale household production. This could explain the price difference between Vietnamese and US products.

However, the main reason is the difference between American and Vietnamese preferences.

"Americans have a taste for chicken breasts but don't eat the other parts of the chicken," said Pham Van Minh, director of the Phu An Sinh food company.

"That's why US importers usually keep the breasts for domestic distribution and export the other parts at lower prices. Also, some Vietnamese enterprises have classified their products and exported chicken breasts to European countries and the US and sold chicken legs and wings domestically." Prices for imported chickens run from 80 US cents to $1.20 (Bt30.25 to Bt45.50) a kilogram and rise to a still-competitive 96 cents to $1.44 after imposition of a 20-per-cent import tax.

Viet Nam News

Asia News Network

Ho Chi Minh City