Vietnamese people spent up to a total USD15 million to import beef from Australia and the US in the first two months of this year, according to the General Department of Customs.

Last year, Vietnam spent VND1.3 trillion (USD59 million) to import beef from the US and USD716 billion (USD32.5 million) to import beef from Australia.

Vietnamese spend more on imported beef 

After being imported into Vietnam, Australian and US beef are sliced for sales. This kind of imported beef is sold at VND150,000 (USD6.81) per kilo compared to up to around VND270,000 (USD12.27) of a kilo of domestic beef.

Following public concern about the quality of imported beef Dam Xuan Thanh, deputy head of the Animal Health Department under the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, said that all imported food products, including beef, is tightly controlled.

Any firm which wants to export their products into Vietnam has to be carefully checked by Vietnamese authorities, Thanh noted.

According to Thanh, the US and Australia are major beef producers with advanced processing technology, so, their beef prices are cheaper compared to many countries.