Vietnamese importers have baulked at the high price of Australian cattle, after last week’s Beef and Dairy Livestock Asia conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Australian representatives reassured importers that the prices were driven by a cattle shortage in Australia, but importers said the high price has taken a toll on their profit margins.

Australia’s cattle exports to Vietnam peaked in 2015, with over 320 thousand cattle traded.

But that figure slipped down to just under 200 thousand cattle a year later.

The high price of Australia cattle has resulted in a slowdown in imports and a rise in competition from cattle from regional countries including Thailand and Cambodia.

The chairman of one of the Australian company who organised the conference said it would be difficult to predict how the market would perform this year.

– TiVi Tuan-san