“This is really the only event in Viet Nam today that provides top-notch information on swine production,“ said Adel Yusupov, US Grains Council regional director in Southeast Asia.

The two-day symposium attracted 140 participants representing the Vietnamese swine production industry along with livestock extension officials. The symposium also covered farm design, swine nutrition, genetics and breeding, disease control and feed formulation systems.

Symposium presenters introduced US national swine nutrition practices to help Vietnamese producers adopt US feeding practices, while a session on least-cost ration formulation provided practical data on the economic advantages of using US corn, sorghum and DDGS.

“Our goal is to help the commercial swine sector grow, but we are also happy to see sales as we run the programme,“ Mr Yusupov said.

The Vietnamese swine sector is growing; in 1999, when most swine farmers had few hogs, the Council instituted a swine demonstration farm, featuring a 52 sow breeding unit. With the Council’s help, the sector changed dramatically. This is evidenced by the 300-5,000 sows each commercial producer attending the conference manages.