Meat in Vietnam

Euromonitor International
February 2022
MEAT IN VIETNAM Passport i

LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

KEY DATA FINDINGS.................................................................................................................. 1
2021 DEVELOPMENTS ............................................................................................................... 1
Stronger decline for total volume sales of meat in 2021 driven by foodservice ........................ 1
Declining prices due to COVID-19, and recovery following African Swine Fever ..................... 1
PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES......................................................................................... 2
Meat expected to see stable growth, driven by health awareness ............................................ 2
E-commerce sales of meat are growing but will remain limited by logistic constraints ............. 2
Summary 1 Major Processors of Meat 2021 ................................................................... 3
CATEGORY DATA ....................................................................................................................... 3
Table 1 Total Sales of Meat by Category: Total Volume 2016-2021 ......................... 3
Table 2 Total Sales of Meat by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2016-2021 ........ 3
Table 3 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Volume 2016-2021 ................................. 3
Table 4 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Volume Growth 2016-2021 ................ 4
Table 5 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Value 2016-2021 .................................... 4
Table 6 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Value Growth 2016-2021 ................... 4
Table 7 Retail Sales of Meat by Packaged vs Unpackaged: % Volume 2016-
2021 ............................................................................................................. 5
Table 8 Forecast Sales of Meat by Category: Total Volume 2021-2026 ................... 5
Table 9 Forecast Sales of Meat by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2021-
2026 ............................................................................................................. 5
Table 10 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Volume 2021-2026 .................. 5
Table 11 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Volume Growth 2021-
2026 ............................................................................................................. 6
Table 12 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Value 2021-2026 ..................... 6
Table 13 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Value Growth 2021-
2026 ............................................................................................................. 6

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MEAT IN VIETNAM
KEY DATA FINDINGS
▪ Total volume sales decrease by 6% in 2021 to 4.0 million tonnes
▪ Other meat is the best performing category in 2021, with total volume sales still falling by 2%
to 86,000 tonnes
▪ Total volume sales are set to rise at a CAGR of 4% over the forecast period to 4.9 million
tonnes

2021 DEVELOPMENTS

Stronger decline for total volume sales of meat in 2021 driven by

foodservice
The emergence of the pandemic in Vietnam had already significantly impacted demand for
meat through foodservice and institutional channels in 2020 due to limited tourism and home
seclusion, with the latter driving up demand through retail as local consumers prepared their
meals at home. While restrictions were gradually eased in the country during the year, from May
2021, Vietnam witnessed another wave of COVID-19, with the Delta variant becoming the main
source of transmissions. With rising cases and death tolls, the local government re-introduced a
number of safety measures across cities and provinces, depending on the severity of the virus.
By the end of July, Hanoi and 19 cities and provinces in Southern Vietnam, including large
economic areas such as Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong, were operating under Official
Instruction No.16 for almost a month.
Official Instruction No.16 dictates that all citizens must work or study from home with all
education institutions closed and moved to online learning during May of the current academic
year, and September for the start of the new one. Many regions with high transmission rates
further delayed the new academic year or fully moved to home-based learning. Foodservice
establishments during this time were also fully closed, including takeaway and home delivery
options, resulting in a more significant demand for meat through this channel in 2021.
Furthermore, consumers were highly restricted in terms of movement, with the zoning policy
preventing them from traveling outside of their residential areas. Only one person per household
was permitted to leave during this period, with a “grocery ticket” allocated for a designated date
and time. For highly controlled border areas such as Ho Chi Minh City, the transportation of
meat was highly restricted, slowing supply to retailers, and therefore, despite home seclusion,
retail volume sales of meat recorded much slower growth compared to 2020. Nevertheless,
compared to 2020, working from home for many areas of Vietnam was short-lived, with some
schools able to fully reopen for the new academic year.

Declining prices due to COVID-19, and recovery following African Swine

Fever
In 2020, African Swine Fever led to the reduced supply of pork, which resulted in a significant
drop in the price of this meat. This trend continued into 2021 as African Swine Fever further
impacted some areas, although total levels of livestock were reported to be on the road to
recovery during the year.
However, the most negative impact on prices in 2021 was the pandemic, which disrupted the
supply chain for many mature, ready-to-slaughter pigs which were not purchased by butchers

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from local farms. With widespread cases of COVID-19, many distributors that bring live pigs to
the food market for slaughter and the selling on of the pork, were infected, lowering the
purchasing volume capacity. With fewer mongers available to facilitate the different stages of
the supply chain, farmers had no choice but to lower the average selling price of live pigs,
further reducing the average unit price of pork in 2021.
Furthermore, with movement restrictions in place for some of 2021, fresh meat was not
delivered to end consumers at the point of sale (modern and traditional grocery retailers) in a
timely manner, although there was high demand for fresh pork for stockpiling for prolonged
home consumption. A lack of fresh pork also drove up the demand for frozen options, which
used to be less favoured by local consumers despite its lower price points. Higher demand for
frozen pork through modern grocery retailers or e-commerce therefore led to increasing retail
prices, although these remained more competitive compared to fresh pork.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Meat expected to see stable growth, driven by health awareness

COVID-19 has raised health awareness amongst the Vietnamese, leading them to consider
the type of food that they consume and the potential associated risks. As such, consumption of
fresh food such as meat is expected to grow over the forecast period compared to processed
options. While demand for meat through retail will remain stable over the forecast period, a full
recovery to pre-pandemic levels through foodservice and institutional channels is not expected
until 2024, in line with predictions for the gradual return of tourists, local consumers regaining
their confidence in returning to dining out, and the reopening of schools and offices.
With disposable incomes of Vietnamese consumers expected to recover in a post-pandemic
scenario, particularly those employed by the local tourism industry, they are likely to purchase
higher volumes of animal protein. At the end of the review period, meat substitutes (excluding
tofu derivatives) retailed at extremely high prices, placing them out of the reach of most local
consumers. Therefore, the Vietnamese tend to consume greater quantities of meat rather than
switching to meat-free lifestyles. Pork, poultry and beef are widely used in local cuisine, and
hence they are expected to see stable demand over the forecast period. As noted in 2020/2021,
African Swine Fever remains an issue for pork. The government is therefore tightening
regulations regarding animal rearing and slaughtering in an effort to contain these threats. On
the other hand, the niche of lamb, mutton and goat is predicted to record a particularly dynamic
performance in terms of growth, which will be due to premiumisation as more affluent
consumers are becoming increasingly willing to try dishes from other countries and cultures.

E-commerce sales of meat are growing but will remain limited by logistic
constraints
During the lockdowns and movement restriction periods when many traditional grocery
retailers such as wet markets were closed, some consumers switched to e-commerce as an
alternative channel. Shopee revamped Now Delivery app – a subsidiary which used to be a food
review platform that made recommendations – into ShopeeFood for grocery deliveries in August
2021. Other e-commerce platforms also offer services such as 1-hour order-to-delivery for
consumers. However, regulations were in place in Vietnam at the end of the review period
regarding e-commerce trading due to the pandemic, including reducing the number of delivery
drivers, antigen rapid tests every two days, and limited to intra-district delivery. Therefore, the
transportation of groceries was a challenge, be it in terms of product availability or delivery
timing.

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Nevertheless, although government policy has not been thorough, either allowing grocery
deliveries or completely halting them for a short period of time amidst rising COVID-19 cases, e-
commerce logistics are indeed helping to ease supply chain disruptions. Over the forecast
period, with heightened demand to purchase fresh food such as meat via e-commerce, the
channel’s logistics are expected to improve, which is likely to result in further penetration of
meat sales. However, the limiting factor for fresh food e-commerce is storage and
transportation, to ensure freshness of perishable goods. Products such as frozen or chilled fresh
meat, which tend to be delivered in chilled boxes, is likely to perform better via e-commerce than
fresh, room temperature meat where freshness might be compromised.

Summary 1 Major Processors of Meat 2021

Company name Product type Rank

Vissan JSC Pork, Beef 1

CP JSC Poultry 2

San Ha Co Ltd Poultry 3

Source: Euromonitor International from company reports, company research, trade press, trade sources

CATEGORY DATA
Table 1 Total Sales of Meat by Category: Total Volume 2016-2021

'000 tonnes
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Beef and Veal 314.8 328.1 341.2 360.0 353.7 338.6

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 16.4 17.5 22.7 27.3 26.1 25.3
Pork 2,775.0 2,636.3 2,741.7 2,688.7 2,661.3 2,500.0
Poultry 817.4 877.1 947.3 1,029.5 1,062.5 1,006.6
Other Meat 88.0 89.1 90.9 93.2 87.6 85.8
Meat 4,011.5 3,948.1 4,143.8 4,198.7 4,191.3 3,956.2
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 2 Total Sales of Meat by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2016-2021

% total volume growth

2020/21 2016-21 CAGR 2016/21 Total

Beef and Veal -4.3 1.5 7.6

Lamb, Mutton and Goat -3.3 9.1 54.6
Pork -6.1 -2.1 -9.9
Poultry -5.3 4.3 23.2
Other Meat -2.1 -0.5 -2.5
Meat -5.6 -0.3 -1.4
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 3 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Volume 2016-2021

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'000 tonnes
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Beef and Veal 186.1 192.1 198.8 208.7 217.1 225.1

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 5.7 6.1 7.2 8.4 9.1 9.9
Pork 1,584.5 1,552.8 1,599.4 1,519.5 1,610.6 1,623.3
Poultry 493.6 526.3 569.4 620.7 695.2 699.9
Other Meat 53.2 54.0 55.0 56.2 57.1 58.0
Meat 2,323.2 2,331.3 2,429.9 2,413.4 2,589.0 2,616.2
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 4 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Volume Growth 2016-2021

% volume growth
2020/21 2016-21 CAGR 2016/21 Total

Beef and Veal 3.7 3.9 20.9

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 8.5 11.6 72.9
Pork 0.8 0.5 2.4
Poultry 0.7 7.2 41.8
Other Meat 1.7 1.7 9.0
Meat 1.0 2.4 12.6
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 5 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Value 2016-2021

VND billion
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Beef and Veal 38,997.2 42,257.4 47,235.3 53,848.3 58,694.6 62,450.4

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 1,199.9 1,333.1 1,643.9 1,923.3 2,154.1 2,687.4
Pork 99,033.1 124,227.2 143,308.4 169,104.0 161,325.2 143,086.0
Poultry 38,545.1 43,154.1 48,093.5 53,864.7 60,867.1 67,335.6
Other Meat 10,126.7 10,535.5 10,939.7 11,515.8 11,861.2 12,279.2
Meat 187,902.1 221,507.3 251,220.8 290,256.0 294,902.3 287,838.7
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 6 Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Value Growth 2016-2021

% current value growth

2020/21 2016-21 CAGR 2016/21 Total

Beef and Veal 6.4 9.9 60.1

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 24.8 17.5 124.0
Pork -11.3 7.6 44.5
Poultry 10.6 11.8 74.7
Other Meat 3.5 3.9 21.3
Meat -2.4 8.9 53.2
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

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Table 7 Retail Sales of Meat by Packaged vs Unpackaged: % Volume 2016-2021

% retail volume
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Packaged 7.8 8.0 8.2 8.5 8.7 9.0

Unpackaged 92.2 92.0 91.8 91.5 91.3 91.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
store checks, trade interviews, trade sources

Table 8 Forecast Sales of Meat by Category: Total Volume 2021-2026

'000 tonnes
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Beef and Veal 338.6 363.3 377.6 392.5 407.4 422.7

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 25.3 27.3 29.1 31.0 32.9 34.9
Pork 2,500.0 2,677.1 2,790.9 2,888.1 2,984.1 3,083.3
Poultry 1,006.6 1,057.0 1,100.8 1,146.3 1,198.0 1,251.5
Other Meat 85.8 90.9 95.2 99.3 103.6 108.0
Meat 3,956.2 4,215.6 4,393.6 4,557.2 4,726.0 4,900.4
Source: Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

Table 9 Forecast Sales of Meat by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2021-2026

% total volume growth

2021/22 2021-26 CAGR 2021/26 Total

Beef and Veal 7.3 4.5 24.9

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 7.9 6.7 38.1
Pork 7.1 4.3 23.3
Poultry 5.0 4.5 24.3
Other Meat 6.0 4.7 26.0
Meat 6.6 4.4 23.9
Source: Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

Table 10 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Volume 2021-2026

'000 tonnes
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Beef and Veal 225.1 233.0 240.8 248.2 255.4 262.7

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 9.9 10.7 11.5 12.3 13.1 13.9
Pork 1,623.3 1,643.0 1,669.5 1,701.1 1,738.5 1,777.1
Poultry 699.9 710.5 724.9 742.9 765.2 788.0
Other Meat 58.0 59.1 60.4 61.9 63.6 65.3
Meat 2,616.2 2,656.4 2,707.1 2,766.4 2,835.8 2,907.1
Source: Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

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Table 11 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Volume Growth 2021-2026

% volume growth
2021/22 2021-26 CAGR 2021/26 Total

Beef and Veal 3.5 3.1 16.7

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 8.0 7.1 40.9
Pork 1.2 1.8 9.5
Poultry 1.5 2.4 12.6
Other Meat 1.9 2.4 12.6
Meat 1.5 2.1 11.1
Source: Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

Table 12 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: Value 2021-2026

VND billion
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Beef and Veal 62,450.4 66,772.9 71,306.1 75,716.6 80,142.0 84,801.3

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 2,687.4 2,989.9 3,282.4 3,581.9 3,871.9 4,185.3
Pork 143,086.0 167,991.5 182,130.1 196,863.4 212,021.9 228,393.1
Poultry 67,335.6 72,466.4 78,136.7 84,375.0 91,293.8 98,761.6
Other Meat 12,279.2 12,403.8 12,592.1 12,842.4 13,163.5 13,495.2
Meat 287,838.7 322,624.5 347,447.4 373,379.3 400,493.0 429,636.6
Source: Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

Table 13 Forecast Retail Sales of Meat by Category: % Value Growth 2021-2026

% constant value growth

2021/2022 2021-26 CAGR 2021/26 Total

Beef and Veal 6.9 6.3 35.8

Lamb, Mutton and Goat 11.3 9.3 55.7
Pork 17.4 9.8 59.6
Poultry 7.6 8.0 46.7
Other Meat 1.0 1.9 9.9
Meat 12.1 8.3 49.3
Source: Euromonitor International from trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews,
trade sources

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