Queensland promotes red meat to Vietnamese consumers

The events gathered experts from Queensland (Australia) and more than 100 importers and retailers of red meat in Vietnam.

Statistics from the TIQ Vietnam shows that, from the beginning of 2020 until now, Vietnam has imported more than 37,000 tonnes of beef from Australia.

Nguyen Thuy Huyen, Director of TIQ Vietnam, said: “The volume of Australian beef imported into Vietnam over the years demonstrates the large demand of the local market and the trust of Vietnamese consumers in the quality of the products. Currently, Queensland accounts for an average of 81% of premium grain-fed beef exported from Australia. In addition, in Queensland, we have processing plants that adhere to high standards to ensure that the beef exported to Vietnam is safe and of high quality.”

Queensland has favorable conditions for livestock farming, including climate and supportive industry policies. It has vast natural grasslands, strict sustainable environmental management and biodiversity, with special attention to animal welfare standards and humane slaughtering practices.

In addition, Queensland also applies advanced technology to serve the closed-loop livestock farming, which helps increase productivity and export value. The technology includes solutions for embryo transplantation, gene selection, nutrition planning during rearing, using robots in packaging and transportation, etc. All of these have helped beef produce cost is at the lowest, while ensuring the transparency in the supply chain and enabling traceability of the meat’s origin from farm to fork.

At the conference, a representative from the MLA stated that Vietnam’s demand for imported beef has increased in recent years, thanks to the growing consumption of the population. Restaurants, hotels and retailers prioritize Australian products because they are affordably priced and suitable for various customer segments. Importers and distributors of Queensland beef are committed to reasonable pricing policy to ensure customer satisfaction.

The Queensland government continues to implement various policies to develop trade cooperation in the beef sector in Vietnam.

In 2022, the field trip for domestic beef importing companies to visit cattle farms, slaughterhouses and Queensland beef exporting partners were organized successfully by TIQ Vietnam.

Queensland’s cattle and calf farms can meet the increasing diverse demands of Vietnamese customers for red meat. They can provide quality products ranging from medium to premium grades such as wagyu, black angus and organic meat. There are many brands to choose from, such as JBS, Kilcoy, Teys, Standbroke, Stockyard, OBE, etc., all of which are already available in the market with consumption increasingly.

On the other hand, Queensland has a good transportation infrastructure with many large, bustling seaports which easily facilitate the transportation and export of livestock to other countries. The Queensland government has been providing a $200 million support package for opening direct flights from Queensland to emerging markets like Vietnam.

A representative of Queensland excitedly said: “We hope that in the future we will soon have direct flights to bring premium chilled meat products from Queensland to Vietnam. We have supporting industries for livestock farming and slaughtering, transportation providers and agricultural economists to help calculate and grow livestock herds. Besides, there are companies that assist in import/export and brand building for cattle/calf farms as well.”