After five years of experimental trials, the fledging Vietnamese ostrich farming industry is about to get off the ground.


The Ba Vi Breeding Farm, in the north of the country, is hoping to secure a market position through cheap prices. Its first batch of locally bred birds will sell for US$10, about half their international market price.


The farm was the first domestic centre to successfully hatch ostriches, after finding that the birds adapted well to the local climate. The farm’s director, Bach Manh Dieu, explained that the birds have a high resistance to disease and that 80% of young chicks survive into adulthood.


Ostrich farms also have the advantage of being able to sell the skin and feathers of the birds.