100,000 tonnes of stockfeed to be sent back to India

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The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Plant Protection Department has asked enterprises to return the goods instead of allowing it to be fumigated as usual. The feed was specially prepared for the breeding industries.

The department said Vietnam was free of the invasive pest. It added that it had told Indian suppliers to fumigate the feed before it was sent because it was such a large quantity that would have been too difficult to fumigate.

The feed is currently being stored at the ports of Haiphong and Sai Gon.

Chairman of the Vietnam Feed Association Le Ba Lich said stock feed was often imported and the department had previously allowed fumigation if termites were detected.

"But the goods have been refused entry this time. About 20 enterprises will suffer total losses of $35-40 million if the goods have to be returned," Lich said.

He added that enterprises would receive no compensation from partners or relevant authorities.

Tran Thanh Quang, an association representative, said the return of the feed could create a serious shortage in the animal breeding world – and force prices sky high.

According to him, the cost of maize, one of the main components of the feed, has increased from VND6,500 to 7,500 per kilo.

Lich said the association had asked the ministry to release half of the imported feed that had shown no signs of termite contagion. He said the ministry should require the Indian suppliers to fumigate the goods before export to Vietnam, adding that the US and Argentina supplied clean product, but at $35-40 a tonne more. Shipping also took longer.

Hoang Trung, deputy director of the Plant Protection Department, said the termites (trogoderma granarium) were listed among the most 100 invasive insects in the world and could seriously affect Vietnam's agricultural exports of rice and other farm products.

"The termites might have moved around since we first checked, so re-export is necessary," he said.

The issue has been forwarded to the government for a final decision.

Previously, about 5,745 tonnes of stock feed from India was fumigated successfully after being found to contain traces of termites.

The ministry sent warnings to Indian suppliers about the need for fumigation before they exported it to Vietnam.

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