Vietnam farmers face difficulties in restocking poultry

VIETNAM - Nguyen Van Trong sat on a small plastic stool in the veranda of his house in Vietnam's northern Nam Dinh province, disappointedly thinking over his flock of more than 3,000 growing chickens which have not been fed enough for several days.

"Prices of animal feeds now stand high, nearly doubling over early last year. I don't know how to seek enough money to raise them," he said, slackly lighting a cigarette.

The man have to borrow money from all of his friends and relatives to feed his fowls, but it is still not enough.

"If prices continue to rise like this, maybe I have to quit the business," he sighed.

Trong is one of many Vietnamese farmers having difficulties in restocking their fowl flocks after the government permitted fowl raisers, except those in southern Ho Chi Minh City, to restore poultry production with no bird flu outbreaks in the last more than three months. Late last year, they had to stop raising new fowls and hatching eggs to prevent bird flu spread under a temporary ban placed by the government.

Some farmers, whose fowls were killed by bird flu or forcefully culled due to the disease last year, cannot restock their fowl flocks, mainly due to soaring prices of baby poultry caused by shortages.

Source: Eastday

17 March 2006