The Vietnam Trade Alliance, a grouping of buyers and producers, have apparently signed a pact on Wednesday to buy up to $500m worth of American pork over three years, the US embassy in Hanoi said on Wednesday according a report by Khanh Vu for Reuters.
The statement said that memorandum of understanding called a “U.S.-Vietnam Pork Consortium” was signed with Smithfield Foods and other US pork producers on the sideline of a virtual Indo-Pacific Business Forum on Wednesday.
Vietnam Trade Alliance will reportedly buy US chilled and frozen pork and pork products for further processing and distribution into the Vietnam market, the statement said.
The news is significant considering pork accounts for three-quarters of total meat consumption in Vietnam, a country of 96 million people where most of its farm-raised pigs are consumed domestically. It is likely in response to an outbreak of African swine fever detected in February last year, forcing the country around 20% of its herd.
The statement said: “This export activity will also help increase overall US agricultural exports to Vietnam, help address the US-Vietnam trade imbalance, and directly support US farmers and ranchers and processing companies.”
