Japan has agreed to import poultry and processed poultry products from Vietnam’s Koyu & Unitek Co Ltd, a move that allows Vietnam to export poultry for the first time to the international market.

The nod has come from Japan’s department of animal health, after a series of introspection of the quality of processed poultry products in Vietnam.

In a statement to the Vietnam Agriculture News, Pham Van Dong, director of the Department Of Animal Health in Vietnam, said that the department has been guiding and supporting Koyu & Unitek since June 2016, with an aim to build up a self-contained chain of production.

The plan was then submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for its approval to export the processed poultry products to the Japanese market, which is known to be one of the most difficult markets in the world.

The animal health department in Vietnam collaborated with Koyu & Unitek, aiming to draw up a surveillance plan for poultry diseases and food safety.

Dong said that the mission was to ensure that the company’s processing plant complies with Japanese food safety standards.

Following this, a Japanese team of inspection delegation came to observe and assess Koyu & Unitek’s poultry production chain. After a series of evaluation, the team agreed that the Vietnamese poultry meets hygiene requirements for export to the Japanese market.

“After a year of negotiations with Japan and preparations to meet their requirements, Vietnam has completed all procedures to export poultry and processed poultry products to Japan, a market which has very strict food safety requirements compared to other countries,” Dong added.

He further commented that the animal health department in Vietnam will continue to support and guide Koyu & Unitek to export poultry to the European Union and other international markets.

In addition, Vietnam is looking forward to expanding its processing plant in the southeast region of the country, with an aim to fulfil the requirements of the countries importing the products.

Source: Far Eastern Agriculture Date: 2017-06-27