Ministry to issue strict standards for imported milk powder

Ministry to issue strict standards for imported milk powder

The MoIT will issue strict standards for imported milk powder, strictly control raw materials right from the customs stage and apply traceability measures similar to those used for hazardous products.

A woman choosing a can of powdered milk. —Photo vietnamfinance.vn

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has announced imported milk powder will be subject to stricter controls.

Only shipments with a shelf life within the prescribed limit will be allowed to be imported and tracing will be carried out to the final product.

The goal is to create an open, transparent market and support domestic production, including foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, domestic enterprises or state-owned enterprises, as long as they produce in Việt Nam.

According to the draft Strategy for the development of the dairy industry until 2030, with a vision to 2045, the prominent viewpoint is to promote the development of the dairy farming industry, increase the proportion of domestic products and gradually reduce dependence on imported raw materials.

Việt Nam currently imports about 200,000-300,000 tonnes of powdered milk each year, equivalent to three billion litres of liquid milk.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Trương Thanh Hoài said that building a dairy industry strategy at this time was necessary to unify awareness, goals and solutions for future development.

The Deputy Minister emphasised that the dairy industry played a special role because it was directly related to human nutrition and health, yet the national herd has remained stagnant at around 330,000 cows for years. To replace 70 per cent of imported milk powder with domestic fresh milk, Việt Nam would need an additional two billion litres of liquid milk, equivalent to 700,000–800,000 dairy cows, he said.

This, he said, showed that there was a lot of room for domestic milk development, he said. 

Bizhub