Vinamilk, the largest dairy producer in Vietnam, recently imported 2,000 high-yielding dairy cows from the U.S. to boost the Southeast Asian country’s domestic supply of raw milk.
The imports raised the size of Vinamilk’s cattle farm in southern Tay Ninh Province to 5,000 dairy cows, with plans to add an additional 3,000 to the herd by the end of 2017.
The imported Holstein Friesian cows, a breed of dairy cattle originating from the Netherlands, are widely known as the world’s highest-production dairy. According to Vinamilk, they are able to produce over 14,000 liters of milk in their lifetimes.
This is the second shipment of U.S. cows to Vinamilk’s 700-hectare cattle farm in Tay Ninh. The facility is equipped with modern milking technology that guarantees the cows’ highest production.
More shipments of cows are expected within the year to meet a goal of increasing the number of cattle at Vinamilk’s Tay Ninh farm to 8,000 by the end of this year.
The dairy producer currently operates ten such farms across Vietnam, using cattle breeds imported from Australia, the U.S., and New Zealand.
These farms can accommodate over 120,000 dairy cows that produce around 750 metric tons of raw milk every day.
At the current rate of expansion, the company expects to report a total cattle size of 160,000 by the end of 2017.
Vinamilk reported a revenue of VND40 trillion (US$1.7 billion) in 2015.
Source: Talk Vietnam