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Australia hopes to export cattle to Viet Nam
The government of Australia’s Northern Territory is keen to do business with Viet Nam and its Trade Minister Dr. Chris Burns has just visited HCM City and Ha Noi to assess prospects. Viet Nam News journalists J.Loizou and Ha Phuong asked the minister for the preliminary results.
The Territory is about to make another effort to export live cattle to Viet Nam after a first effort, about 10 years ago, was less than successful. What is the plan this time?
We are getting very close with the first shipment proposed for September of this year to a feed lot in Nha Trang. The lot can hold up to 15,000 cattle but the first shipment is 1,000 to make sure everything works properly.
What breed of cattle are you sending?
They are a tropical breed, Brahman, I think, and I believe they will do well in Viet Nam. They are pretty tough. The "Top End," or north, of the Northern Territory is very tropical. These cattle will come from the "Top End" which has a climate similar to that in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.
What is a feed lot?
A feed lot is a facility where numbers of cattle are fed in large trough in a fairly confined space for up to 60 days. When they arrive from the Northern territory, they need to be "finished".` That means they need to be put on condition and fat and weight. They do that when they are fed with the proper food. They are fed with the bi-product of rice production; coconut meal and a whole range of other feed. They are then slaughtered and go into the "wet" market.
The Territory has long exported live cattle to Indonesia but the only attempt in Viet Nam failed. I understand that feeding the cattle proved difficult. How will this effort be different?
There was trouble with nutrition the last time around. But there will be lots of support for this particular project not only from the Northern Territory government but also the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation. The other organisations involved are also very keen to support it to ensure that it doesn’t have the problems that plagued it last time.
How will it work?
My understanding is that infrastructure has been built by Khanh Hoa Province through a State-owned corporation and an agreement was signed in November last year. I imagine the corporation will oversee the feed lot. It will provide employment for people as will the abattoir which we will be supporting to ensure hygiene.
Why was Khanh Hoa Province chosen for the shipment?
There has been a long-term relationship between Khanh Hoa and parts of the Northern Territory where cattle are raised. But we are trying to start with a fairly light-based proposal so that we can get it right and then, if it’s successful, we believe other provinces might want to invest in the same way.
But the support the Northern Territory government and the Meat and Livestock Corporation are providing to ensure that the cattle are properly tended and do not get sick is very important. Quarantine is another issue that we have had to work through.
Have you any idea how much money you will put in?
My understanding is the infrastructure has been built by Khanh Hoa Planning and Investment Department but we have provided technical support. The infrastructure belongs to the Vietnamese company but we are supplying the needs of the cattle.
What competition do you expect? Do you have any rivals apart from other Australians?
The major competition comes from countries like India which exports cattle to other countries, certainly to Thailand and, I think, Malaysia. But we’ve got very stringent quarantine requirements in Australia and we believe our cattle are very healthy and free of diseases such as blue tongue or other exotic tropical diseases.
We have spoken to senior officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and I think they acknowledge that we had worked through all of these issues about quarantine in the agreement. There are still issues to work through for the import of breeding cattle but that is not our market. We have undertaken to keep working with the ministry to settle the fine detail.
Would you like to talk to Vietnam Airlines about flying into Darwin?
That is something mentioned at a number of meetings we have attended. And that is something we will pursue when I return home.
JetStar flies Darwin to HCM City four times a week and I think it’s an important link but we’ve got a US$12 billion gas and oil development off the Northern Territory that will come on shore and develop very quickly and require much more business travel. Vietnam Airlines is a major airline and an airline we could have further discussions with.
Have you had any plans to develop tourism co-operation between Viet Nam and the Northern Territory?
I’ve just met with Deputy Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Huynh Vinh Ai and he is very interested in exploring the potential between the Northern Territory and Viet Nam. It’s at a very early stage but I think it has potential.
Has the Territory any ambitions to attract students from Viet Nam?
We can support students of public administration at the Charles Darwin University. I think we can start talking about some exchanges and possibly some scholarships. I also think there is going to be an explosion in vocational training – explosion, that is the right word to use - with the continued development of the oil and gas industry in Darwin.
Would you welcome investment from Viet Nam in the Northern Territory?
Of course. Perhaps in the tourist and pastoral industries for a start and shipping to carry our cattle to Viet Nam.
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