VN food consumption to surge 5.1% every year: MoIT forecast

The forecast also pegged food consumption per capital growing to VND5.8 million (about US$276) by 2016, reflecting an increase of 4.3%.

The expected growth is a result of consumers' increasing incomes and the development of the retail industry.

At present, Vietnamese consumers still focus on the daily essential food demand.

However, the trend will change when the income of urban residents rises, which will allow them to spend more on high-quality food and beverages.

"In order to meet demand from local consumers, the quality of local food products need to be controlled more closely," said Bui Truong Thang, Deputy head of MoIT's Light Industry Department.

Thang told Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep (Enterprise Forum) newspaper that most Vietnamese food processing enterprises have weak competitive capacity in the regional and global market.

The reasons are many, but a lack of capital, poor machinery and out-of-date technology, are some of the causes that have been identified.

In order to improve the situation, some local companies have invested in building a breeding farm and processing factory to form a closed manufacturing chain.

For example, the Massan Group began construction of the Massan food industry centre in the central province of Nghe An last November.

However, the investment in food processing with standard technology is still modest, according to MoIT.