HANOI, VIETNAM — Although feed demand in 2017 fell by 15% year on year in Vietnam, it will increase in 2018 due to expected growth in the aquaculture industry, according to a recent Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report issued by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The report estimated 2017 feed demand at 29.1 million tonnes, but it forecast a rebound to 30 million tonnes in 2018.

The use of feed wheat in 2018 is forecast at 1.8 million tonnes, down from 2.6 million tonnes last year due to the economically uncompetitive price of wheat compared to corn in the second half of 2017.

However, the report noted that the forecast for feed wheat use in 2018 is revised up from the previous forecast of 1.4 million tonnes, because of growth in the aquaculture industry, which uses a high ratio of feed wheat to other feed ingredients.

The report also forecast corn production in Vietnam down from 5.35 million to 4.88 million tonnes due mainly to unfavorable weather, while corn imports are forecast up from 8.5 million to 9 million tonnes.

Adverse weather also has led to a revised estimate of the country’s rice output to 43.85 million from 44.08 million tonnes.