US embassy cable - 05HOCHIMINHCITY1200

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001200 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR USAID/RDM-A/BANGKOK 
STATE FOR G; CA/OCS/ACS/EAP; EAP/EX; EAP/MLS; EAP/EP; 
EB/TPP/ABT/ATP; 
INR; OES/STC (PBATES); OES/IHA (DSINGER AND NCOMELLA) 
BANGKOK FOR RMO, CDC, USAID/RDM/A (MFRIEDMAN) 
USDA FOR FAS/PASS TO APHIS 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA/AP (LSTERN) 
USAID FOR ANE AND GH (DCAROLL, SCLEMENTS AND PCHAPLIN) 
STATE PASS USTR (ELENA BRYAN) 
STATE ALSO PASS HHS/OGHA (EELVANDER) 
ROME FOR FAO 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ETRD, EAID, PGOV, TBIO, SOCI, PINR, CASC, AMED, VM, AMGMT, AFLU 
SUBJECT: POULTRY ALMOST UNAVAILABLE IN HCMC 
 
REF:  HANOI 2991 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  Ho Chi Minh City authorities are tightening 
restrictions on the sale of poultry within city limits as part of 
its avian influenza prevention plan.  Several large supermarkets 
in HCMC have halted sales of domestic poultry, though they still 
plan to sell eggs.  Combined with the GVN's recent decision to 
temporarily ban all imports of unprocessed poultry products 
(reftel), these moves mean chicken will no longer be available. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) On November 6, Dr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, First Vice-Chairman 
of the HCMC People's Committee and head of HCMC's Steering 
Committee for Avian Influenza (AI) Prevention and Control, 
announced new measures to prevent bird flu, including: 
 
--a ban on raising of poultry within HCMC limits, effective 
November 15; 
 
--assistance to HCMC poultry farmers for their transition out of 
poultry farming; 
 
--a requirement that the HCMC Department of Trade unveil by 
November 10 a more stringent plan to inspect all poultry and 
poultry products entering the city. 
 
HCMC has already banned the sale of live poultry within the city 
and has increased the number of inspectors certifying poultry 
products for sale. 
 
3. (U) To facilitate ending poultry farming within city limits, 
HCMC will buy farmers' poultry stock - albeit at below-market 
rates - and will assist in cleaning and decontaminating local 
poultry farms.  Farmers must turn their livestock over to the city 
before November 15 to receive payment.  HCMC will also provide 
loans up to VND 4 million (about USD 252) to each household that 
raises poultry.  Small-scale poultry traders will also be 
encouraged to shift to other occupations with a small subsidy of 
VND 300,000 (about USD 19) per household for vocational training 
and loans of up to VND 2 million (about USD 126) per trader. 
 
4. (U) Major HCMC supermarkets are also taking Vietnamese poultry 
products off their shelves.  Citimart and Maximart, which have 
tens of outlets in the HCMC area, told us they will stop selling 
domestic poultry. Citimart has plans to stop selling eggs as well; 
Maximart plans to continue selling both chicken and duck eggs, 
though its egg sales are down by as much as 70 percent.  The HCMC 
outlets of Metro, a big-box quasi wholesaler stopped selling 
domestic chicken at the beginning of November. 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT:  Though agriculture, including the raising of 
livestock, only accounts for 2 percent of HCMC's GDP, local 
agriculture experts say HCMC's policies set the standard for the 
rest of southern Vietnam, particularly the Mekong Delta.  It is 
too early to tell whether other southern provinces will adopt 
similar policies given that agriculture plays a much stronger role 
in those economies.  The fact that the GVN has halted the import 
of unprocessed poultry products and the decision to remove local 
poultry from supermarket shelves means that HCMC consumers will no 
longer be able to put chicken on the table. 
 
WINNICK