Livestock sector ensures stable supply ahead of Lunar New Year 2026

Vietnam’s Premier International Feed, Livestock and Meat Industry Show (Vietstock 2025 Expo and Forum) has recently taken place in Ho Chi Minh City. During the event, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment convened a conference on the development of cattle and poultry farming to ensure sufficient supply during late 2025 and early 2026. The event focused on strategic solutions to stabilise supply and promote sustainable livestock growth.

Dong Nai ranks among the country’s leading provinces in livestock exports. In the photo: An industrial chicken farm in Xuan Dong Commune exporting products to the Japanese market. Photo: B. Nguyen

As the country’s livestock capital, Dong Nai has maintained steady growth since the beginning of 2025, contributing significantly to ensuring a stable supply of livestock products for the Lunar New Year 2026.

Exports see strong growth

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien, agriculture continues to serve as a vital pillar of the economy, with livestock production being one of its key sectors. The livestock industry contributes approximately 5% to the national GDP, equivalent to 33–35 billion USD. Vietnam’s pig herd currently reaches over 31 million head and its poultry population hits 584 million, with total meat output in the first nine months reaching nearly 6 million tonnes, a 5% increase year-on-year.

Notably, livestock exports in the first nine months of 2025 reached 447 million USD, an increase of 18.6%. By the end of 2025, livestock exports are expected to exceed 600 million USD, while feed exports are projected to reach 1.5 billion USD. With appropriate strategies, the national target of 100 billion USD in agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports for 2025 is deemed achievable.

As the livestock capital of the country, Dong Nai Province has made a significant contribution to Vietnam's overall growth in animal husbandry. According to statistics, as of September 2025, Dong Nai had around 3.84 million pigs and nearly 36.2 million poultry. The total herd also included about 166,000 buffalo and cows, approximately 310,000 goats, and some 7 million quails. Livestock production in the province has been shifting from small-scale household farming to farm-based operations. Notably, two key livestock groups — pigs and chickens — are predominantly raised on farms, accounting for 92% and 84% of the total herds, respectively.

Deputy Director of Dong Nai’s Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Van Thang said the livestock sector has established several production linkage chains, including six for chicken eggs, ten for chicken meat, thirty-five for pork, and one for quail eggs. Among these are two export chains for processed chicken products shipped to Japan, with nearly 1,000 tonnes exported each month. The livestock sector accounts for a major share to the province’s agricultural output, providing employment and income for tens of thousands of workers. This, in turn, helps stabilise rural livelihoods, ensures food security, and contributes positively to Dong Nai’s overall economic growth.

Overcoming challenges to achieve targets

Dinh Tat Thang, Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, noted that the sector is facing numerous challenges in the fourth quarter of 2025, particularly the resurgence of African swine fever affecting supply in the northern and north-central regions.

To address these challenges, the livestock sector has been working closely with localities to assess the situation and prepare response measures. The main priorities are ensuring a year-end food supply, balancing supply and demand, stabilizing breeding stock, feed prices, veterinary medicine, and reducing production costs. Efforts to prevent and control diseases, as well as safe restocking under strict biosecurity measures, are being strengthened, especially in Dong Nai and the Mekong Delta, to safeguard key production areas.

“The livestock sector aims for an annual growth rate of 4–5%. By 2030, the province aims to have 6 million pigs and a poultry population of 48 million. Priority will be given to effective disease control, eradication of outbreaks, and the establishment of disease-free zones."

Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment

Ho Chi Minh City, home to more than 14 million residents, remains the largest consumer of livestock products nationwide. During the end of 2025 and the peak period of the 2026 Lunar New Year, when consumer demand is expected to surge, ensuring an adequate, stable, and safe food supply will become a top concern for the city. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City imports about 40 - 45% of its daily pork and 65 - 70% of its poultry from other localities. In the coming months, authorities will tighten control over animal transportation and slaughtering to ensure food hygiene and safety.

From a market perspective, Dinh Viet Tu from the Southern Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development stated that disease risks and natural disasters, particularly those following storms, could disrupt the supply chain and affect domestic meat production until the end of 2025. Meanwhile, meat consumption is expected to rise sharply, and peak during the 2026 Lunar New Year when food processing and household demand increase by 15–20%. The key to stabilizing prices and enhancing the competitiveness of the livestock sector during the year-end peak period, he emphasized, lies in continued disease control, stable supply chains, and strengthened production–consumption linkages.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by My Le, Thu Ha