Your next Kobe beef may come from Vietnam

A cow farm in Lam Dong Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands that produces Kobe beef-quality meat

The administration of Quang Binh Province in north-central Vietnam has inked deals with Japanese businesses from Hyogo Prefecture to fast-forward investment in a Japanese-style cow farm in the province.

Hyogo is known as the birthplace of world-famous Kobe beef, a reference to beef from the Tajima strain of Wagyu cattle raised in the Japanese prefecture, according to naming regulations set forth by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association.

The meat is a delicacy renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture.

The 500-hectare farm will be built in Quang Trach or Tuyen Hoa District, with another 2,200-hectare plot nearby reserved for growing plants to be used as cow food.

To avoid negative impacts from seasonal rains and flooding, the farmland will be elevated and connected to major roads to aid in the convenience of transport and trade, according to the administration of Quang Binh.

The province’s current 54,000 hectares of paddy field yields 189,000 metric tons of hay per year on average, which will also be used as cow food.

In its announcement of the project on Wednesday, the administration of Quang Binh promised to facilitate the best business environment for Japanese businesses to put the farm into operation as soon as possible, including expediting the quarantine procedure of the livestock to ensure that the first shipment of 5,000 Japanese cows into Vietnam takes less than 24 hours to complete.

In 2009, Vietnam welcomed its first Japanese cow farm in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong that produced Kobe beef-quality meat, with its livestock imported from Japan by a Japanese business.