Vietnam’s poultry sector just absorbed a record wave of foreign chicken. In the first six months of the year, import volumes reached roughly 200,000 metric tonnes, with total value landing between $190 million and $205 million. Meantime, meat and edible offal imports surged somewhere between 26 percent and nearly 38 percent compared to the same period last year.
Those figures come straight from industry data, and they signal a structural squeeze on local producers. Free trade agreements have steadily eroded tariff barriers, making imported poultry far more competitive on price. For domestic farmers already battling rising feed costs, the math keeps getting harder.
Frozen leg quarters dominate the inbound shipments. That single category moved between 130,000 and 140,000 tonnes, representing close to 72 percent of all chicken imports. The product targets institutional buyers and competes head-to-head with domestically raised white chicken on dining trays across schools, factories, and canteens.
Frozen wings formed a smaller but growing slice. Shipments totaled between 22,000 and 25,000 tonnes, roughly 12 percent of the import mix. Fast-food chains and restaurants absorb most of that supply. Another 16,000 to 18,000 tonnes arrived as chicken feet and assorted byproducts, while whole frozen birds barely registered at 3,500 to 5,000 tonnes.
The United States commanded the supplier rankings by a wide margin. American exporters shipped between 115,000 and 120,000 tonnes to Vietnamese buyers. European Union nations followed at 28,000 to 30,000 tonnes, with Poland leading that bloc. Brazil rounded out third place at 24,000 to 26,000 tonnes, delivering wings and leg quarters.
The industry association underscored an uncomfortable reality: lower-cost imports keep tightening the vise on domestic poultry operations, even as local production volumes climb. That tension has defined the market all year.
On the export side, the picture looks smaller but more refined. Vietnam shipped an estimated 4,800 to 5,200 tonnes of poultry meat abroad, generating between $45 million and $48 million. Processed chicken products drove more than 85 percent of that export value, pointing toward a deliberate pivot to higher-margin formats.
Japan captured the largest share of Vietnamese exports, pulling in more than half of all revenue. Hong Kong, Cambodia, and several Middle Eastern markets contributed additional demand. Notably, Vietnam initiated processed chicken shipments to South Korea starting in April, opening a fresh channel for value-added trade.
Whether that export sophistication can counterbalance surging imports remains the central question for the industry heading into the year’s second half.
