HANOI, VIETNAM — Animal feed demand in Vietnam is forecast to grow in marketing year 2022-23 as the country is expected to import more corn to offset lower domestic production and reduced feed wheat supply, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA projects corn consumption in the upcoming marketing year to increase to 14.5 million tonnes, compared with 14.3 million in 2021-22.

The report noted that the war between Russia and Ukraine, two of the world’s leading wheat exporters, is impacting Vietnam’s growing feed industry.

“A prolonged conflict could affect the planting pace of new crops, especially in Ukraine, which could force feed mills to switch back to corn and/or alternate ingredients where possible,” the USDA said.

The USDA forecasts 2022-23 wheat consumption to fall to 3.7 million tonnes, down from 3.9 million in 2021-22. Wheat for feed consumption is projected to decline by 300,000 tonnes to 1.5 million while milling wheat demand is pegged to increase slightly to 2.2 million tonnes.