Vietnam earned 3.6 billion USD from agro-forestry-seafood exports in the first two months of this year, approximately the same as last year’s figure.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development noted a remarkable decrease of 13.2 percent in the export value of agricultural products with 2 billion USD, as a result of dropping prices in the world market.

With the exception of pepper, cashew nuts and tea, most key agricultural products earned less than in the same period last year.

The country shipped 756,000 tonnes of rice overseas in the period for almost 437 million USD, down 26.6 percent in volume and 16.1 percent and value.

Although Indonesia remains Vietnam’s leading rice importer, its purchase has dropped by one third in terms of both volume and value.

Coffee export stood at 312,000 tonnes worth 632 million USD, a year-on-year decrease of 13 percent in volume and 11.8 percent in value, as major markets such as Italy and Belgium saw consumption reduced by as much as one half or two thirds from one year ago.

The same situation can be seen in rubber sector with only 80,000 tonnes of rubber worth 220 million USD shipped abroad, down 23.6 percent in value.

Meanwhile, tea export reached 19,000 tonnes, earning 28 million USD, up 14.8 percent in volume and 19.2 percent in value.

Pepper industry brought in nearly 42 million USD from the sale of 6,000 tonnes, a year-on-year surge of 40 percent in value.

Forestry product and wooden furniture brought home 626 million USD, a rise of 18.7 percent. Meanwhile, seafood export value was 763 million USD, up 12.7 percent against the same period last year.-VNA