Pork falls below half of Vietnam’s household meat basket

Pork remains Vietnam’s dominant meat, but its position in the household meat basket is gradually changing.

Data from AgroMonitor presented by Nguyen Quoc Dat, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Livestock Production, showed that pork accounted for 48% of household meat consumption in 2024, down from 53% in 2020.

Over the same period, chicken increased its share from 29% to 33%. Beef and buffalo edged up from 7% to 8%, while duck remained broadly unchanged at 11%.

The figures do not necessarily mean Vietnamese consumers are eating less pork in absolute terms. Rather, they show that pork is taking a smaller share of an increasingly diversified meat basket.

Dat pointed to China as an example of how significantly consumption patterns can change over time, with pork losing part of its historically dominant position as other proteins gained ground.

For Vietnam’s pig industry, the shift is worth watching. Pork is still the country’s first choice of meat, but that position can no longer be treated as fixed.