Trends in Food Production and Food Consumption in Vietnam During the Period

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1 Mal J Nutr 9(1): 1-5, 2003 Trends in Food Production and Food Consumption in Vietnam During the Period Le Thi Hop, Le Bach Mai & Nguyen Cong Khan The National Institute of Nutrition, Hanoi, Vietnam ABSTRACT During the last ten years much attention has been paid to improving the health and nutritional status of the Vietnamese people. In 1995, the Government of Vietnam ratified the National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN) for the period Poverty reduction was one of the basic social policies given special attention. Several programs have been implemented in Vietnam by different sectors and ministries in an attempt to improve food intake and the nutritional status of the people. The implementation of the first NPAN ( ) and other intervention programs to improve food production and consumption in Vietnam during the last decade have been successful. Trends showing improvement in the production of main foods during the last decade have been observed. The population s dietary intake has clearly improved in terms of both quality and quantity with the consumption of foods such as meats, fish, fat oils, and ripe fruits being much higher compared to The prevalence of child malnutrition during the last decade shows a marked decrease. INTRODUCTION Compared to other developing countries, undernutrition among Vietnamese children was still a serious health problem during the 1980s (Khoi, 1990). The prevalence of stunting remained high: 59.7% and 49.1% in 1985 and 1990, respectively (Khoi & Giay, 1994; Bloem, Gorstein & Khoi, 1995). Early introduction of poor quality supplementary foods in low quantities, a low rate of exclusive breastfeeding and a high frequency of diseases during early infancy may be the reasons for growth retardation (Hop, 1995; Hop et al., 1997). The food consumption surveys of the Vietnamese population in 1985 (Giay et al., 1991) showed that 15% of the population suffered inadequate energy intake with a low protein intake. Much of the protein came from rice; the consumption of meats, beans and fish was negligible. During the last 10 years, much attention has been paid to improving the health and nutritional status of the Vietnamese people. In 1995 the Government of Vietnam ratified the National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN) for the period (MOH/NIN, 1995). Poverty reduction was one of the basic social policies given special attention. In this regard, the Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction program (HEPR) implemented by the Ministry of Labor Invalid and Social Affairs (MOLISA), since 1992 has been ongoing. The emphasis of this program is on infrastructure support for poor communes, financial support for poor households of disadvantaged ethnic groups, building capacity for staff in poverty alleviation, agriculture and aquaculture extension, health care, and provision of credit and education for the poor. Many programs have been implemented in Vietnam in order to improve food intake and nutritional status of the people (Thien, Lang &

2 Le Thi Hop, Le Bach Mai & Nguyen Cong Khan Truc, 2001). Subsequent to the first national nutrition survey (1987), a second national survey was conducted in This paper will begin by looking at the trends of food production and food consumption of the population in Vietnam over the past decades. TRENDS IN FOOD PRODUCTION IN VIETNAM In the year 2000, pig rearing increased 5% per year and pork meat by 7% per year compared to 1995 (MARD, 2001). Feed technology and feed processing also received attention and investments; there are 108 feed processing factories producing an average of 2.8 m ton/y (Thien et al., 2001). According to FAO data (2002), there was a positive trend in the production of all the different animal food sources beef, cow milk, pork, poultry meat and fish as well as the main staple foods (rice and vegetable oil) (Table 1 and Figure 1) (FAO, 2002). DIETARY TRENDS IN VIETNAM After the first national nutrition survey (1987), a second national survey was conducted in 2000 which clearly indicated an improved dietary intake. The consumption of staple foods such as meats, fish, fat oils, and ripe fruits was much higher compared to 1987 (Table 3). Fat consumed was 6.8 g/d on average, twice as high as that in 1987 (3.0 g/d). Ripe fruit consumption was much higher (62.4 g vs. 4.1 g), especially in the South and some of the East-North provinces (Khoi, Khan & Mai, 2002). Table 1. Trends in main food production (ton/y) in Vietnam, Food Beef 72,000 79,000 88,500 92,268 Cow milk 31,274 32,863 39,692 54,456 Pork 1,154,200 1,228,000 1,318,400 1,409,015 Poultry meat 226, , , ,692 Shrimps 49,298 54,853 57,433 69,433 Fish raised 285, , , ,09 400,000 Fish (total) 835, , ,576 1,015,005 1,076,734 Vegetable oil 87,717 94, , ,000 Rice 27,523,900 29,145,500 31,393,800 32,529,500 31,970,100 Soybeans 113, , , , ,100 Source: FAO Hanoi, The 2002 National Survey showed a marked improvement in the population s dietary intake in terms of both quality and quantity compared to the data from previous surveys carried out in 1965 to 1985 (Table 2) as well as the national survey in Protein intake of the population for the year 2000, on average, met the RDA of the NIN; energy from fat and oil increased from 8.4% to 12.0 %; animal protein was 33.5% of the total, and the proportion (%) of the energy

3 Trends in Food Production and Food Consumption in Vietnam During the Period provided by Protein: Fat: Carbohydrate (P:F:C) was more balanced in 2000, 13: 12: 75 compared with 12.3: 8.4: 79.3 in 1987 (Khoi et al., 2002). Figure 1. Trends in food production in Vietnam from The results of energy intake provided by Protein: Fat: Carbohydrate (P:F:C) of the national survey in 2000 are presented in Figure 2. The energy intake level was found to be almost the same as in the year 1987, 1931 Kcal on average, meeting 93 % of the RDA of the NIN. However, energy from fat and oil show an increase. Table 2. Characteristics of dietary intake of the Vietnamese population ( ) Variables Total kcal % Protein % Fat % Carbohydrate Table 3. Consumption of main food items of the Vietnamese population (g/ person/ d) in the national surveys of 1987 and 2000 No Food Meats Fish Eggs and milk Fat/oil Rice Ripe fruits CHILD MALNUTRITION IN VIETNAM Child malnutrition (underweight-w/a) saw a remarkable reduction from 51.5% in 1985 to 44.5% in 1995 (Figure 3). With the NPAN starting in 1995, the rate dropped to 33.1% in 2000 (a reduction of 2 % per year which is considered a rapid rate by the international community).

4 Le Thi Hop, Le Bach Mai & Nguyen Cong Khan However, according to WHO, the prevalence of 33.1% child malnutrition is ranked in the very high level world-wide. This prevalence of child malnutrition varies among the ecological regions of the country. It is lowest in Ho Chi Minh City (18%) and Hanoi (21%), while in some provinces, it is still above 50% (21). The prevalence of stunting has fallen from 56.7% in 1987 to 36.5% in 2000, and to 34.8% in 2001 (Figure 3). There is no significant gender difference in the prevalence of malnutrition in Vietnam (Khoi et al., 2002). Figure 2. Comparison of energy intake in 1987 and 2000 Figure 3. Underweight and stunting among under-five children ( ) CONCLUSION The implementation of the first NPAN ( ) and other intervention programs to improve food production and consumption in Vietnam during the last decade have been successful. Positive trends in the production of main foods during the last decade have been observed. The population s dietary intake has clearly improved in terms of both quality and quantity. The consumption of staple foods in 2000 such as meats, fish, fat oils, and ripe fruits was much higher compared to The prevalence of child malnutrition has also seen a remarkable decrease.

5 Trends in Food Production and Food Consumption in Vietnam During the Period REFERENCES Khoi HH (1990). Protein energy nutritional status of some rural regions of Vietnam. D.Sc. dissertation. Warsaw, Poland Khoi HH & Giay T (1994). The nutritional disorders and health status of Vietnamese community. Hanoi: Medical Publication House. Bloem MW, Gorstein J & Khoi HH (1995). Vietnam: xerophthalmia free. National vitamin A deficiency and protein-energy malnutrition survey in Hanoi: Medical Publication House. FAO (2002). Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2002). Corrected data of Vietnam during the last 5 years. Report of FAO Hanoi- Food Balance Sheets. Hop LT (1995). Longitudinal observation of physical growth of Vietnamese children from birth to 10 years in Vietnam conditions. MSc Thesis. SEAMEO-TROPMED, University of Indonesia, Jakarta. Hop LT, Gross R, Giay T, Schultink W, Thuan BTN & Sastroamidjojo S (1997). Longitudinal observation of growth of Vietnamese children in Hanoi, Vietnam from birth to 10 years of age. Eur J Clin Nutr 51: Giay T, Khoi HH, Doan LV & Canh NK (1991). Current daily food intake of Vietnamese peasants in some ecological regions of the country. In: Nutrition Monographs pp Hanoi: Medical Publishing House. Khoi HH, Khan NC & Mai LB (2002). Results of the National Food and Nutrition Survey Excutive summary NIN/MOH, Hanoi 4/2002. MARD (2001). Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (2001). The state of food security in Vietnam progress since the 1996 world food summit - key indicators. Dept of Planning and Projection, MARD. MOH/NIN (1995). National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN) Hanoi: Medical Publishing House. Thien M, Lang PS & Truc DX (2001). Issues in economics and technology in pig raising. Workshop proceedings. Hanoi, September