Govt supports group's plans to beef up investment

Govt supports group's plans to beef up investment

The government is eager to provide support to the Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group after the company's recent proposal for major investment in cattle farming.

The group plans to import 100,000 beef cattle from Australia to breed in Laos for domestic supply and export.

The company has announced its initial plans to the government but they have yet to undertake a feasibility study report, Livestock and Fisheries Department Director General, Dr Bounkhouang Khambounheuang told Vientiane Times last week.

To support the project, the government is pleased to help on policy for investors especially tax free status on the import of products such as bulls, vaccines and animal feeds.

“The investors will be also pay a lower rate of tax on revenues from the business operation, electricity costs will be reduced and they will have better opportunity to access loans from financial institutions,” he said.

The government will also provide any other assistance it can for the business to run well under its promotion policy.

Most investors in the pas t have only focused on the mining, electricity and industrial tree plantation sectors, but to date there has been a lack of companies interested in livestock investment and the farming sector.

The government believes the project will be useful to the meet growing demand for meat consumption in the country.

Currently the numbers of buffaloes and cattle in Laos are decreasing as there is limited land for breeding, and some local producers are selling their livestock to neighbouring countries because of a lack of beef supply on the market.

There is a dearth of larger scale cattle breeding enterprises in Laos with most breeders being small scale family operations with only a few head of cattle.

So accordingly the government is keen to give the green light to welcome any domestic and foreign companies eager to invest in this sector for meat supply.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group has 40,000 hectares of corn, sugarcane, rubber and palm plantation under cultivation mostly in Attapeu province. The leaves and stems of corn or sugarcane waste would provide good feed for its planned livestock operation.

Funding is a major problem for Lao farmers who are struggling to find funds to invest to improve their cattle farming.

Xieng Khaung is a potential province for livestock breeding as it has large fields, suitable investment climate and each year provincial people already receive millions in income from livestock breeding.

vientiane times