Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam's agro-forestry-fishery product exports brought home an estimated 35.88 billion USD in the first half of 2026, up 6% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Export turnover in June alone stood at 6.34 billion USD, rising 3% from May and 10.1% from the same month last year.
Of the six-month total, agricultural products generated 18.59 billion USD, up 0.2% year-on-year; aquatic products 5.7 billion USD, up 11.4%; forestry products 9.2 billion USD, up 4.6%; livestock products 375.8 million USD, up 34.6%; and salt 7.7 million USD, up 39.8%.
Despite the export growth, the sector's trade surplus narrowed to an estimated 9.2 billion USD, down 7.7% from a year earlier.
Forestry recorded the largest trade surplus of 7.36 billion USD, up 1.4%, followed by aquatic products at 4.13 billion USD, up 17%. Agricultural products posted a surplus of 1.51 billion USD, a sharp decline of 60.6% year-on-year.
Among individual commodities, six recorded trade surpluses exceeding 1 billion USD. Timber and wood products led the list with 6.73 billion USD, up 0.9%, followed by coffee at 4.58 billion USD despite a 15% decline. Fruit and vegetables, shrimp, rice and tra fish also remained among the top surplus earners.
Asia continued to be Vietnam's largest export market for agro-forestry-fishery products, accounting for 44.4% of total exports during the first six months. The Americas ranked second with 21.4%, followed by Europe with 14.4%. Africa and Oceania represented 2.4% and 1.5%, respectively.
Exports to Asia increased 11% year-on-year while shipments to Europe rose 2.2% and those to Oceania climbed 21.1%. In contrast, exports to the Americas fell 2.3%, and those to Africa dropped 17.3%.
China remained Vietnam's largest export destination, accounting for 21.3% of total turnover, followed by the US with 19% and Japan with 6.8%. Exports to China surged 23.1% while shipments to Japan edged up 1.6%. Exports to the US, however, declined 3.6%.
Fruit, vegetables and pepper stood out among Vietnam's key foreign currency earners.
Fruit and vegetable exports rose 17.7% to 3.65 billion USD, with China remaining the largest market, accounting for 51.2% of total exports and recording growth of 27.9%. Shipments to the US and the Republic of Korea also increased by 12.2% and 8.4%, respectively.
As many as 151,900 tonnes of pepper worth 945.9 million USD were shipped abroad during the reviewed period, up 23.3% in volume and 11.6% in value. The US, Germany and Thailand were the largest markets, with exports to Thailand soaring 95.1% and those to the US rising 19.2%.
Rice and coffee both recorded higher export volumes but lower export values due to lower average prices.
Vietnam exported 5.2 million tonnes of rice in the first half of the year, up 9.9%, but export revenue slipped 2.5% to 2.38 billion USD as the average export price fell 11.3% to 459.6 USD per tonne. The Philippines remained the largest buyer, accounting for 45% of total exports while shipments to China jumped 87%.
Coffee exports increased 9.7% in volume to 1.1 million tonnes, but earnings dropped 14.4% to 4.78 billion USD as average prices declined 22% to 4,435 USD per tonne. Germany, Italy and the US were still Vietnam's largest coffee consumers. Meanwhile, shipments to China surged 70.7%.
Cashew exports presented the opposite trend. Export volume fell 1.8% to 338,400 tonnes, but turnover rose 1.6% to 2.39 billion USD thanks to a 3.5% increase in average export prices. China, the US and the Netherlands remained the leading markets.
Cassava and cassava products also saw declines in export volumes but increases in value. Shipments declined 12% to 2 million tonnes, but earnings edged up 2.2% to 701.9 million USD as average prices rose 16.2%. China accounted for 92.4% of the total revenue.
Meanwhile, both rubber and tea witnessed lower export volumes and value. Rubber exports dropped 7.9% in volume to 639,100 tonnes and 4.3% in value to 1.23 billion USD although average export prices increased 3.9%. Tea exports fell 8.1% in volume to 53,200 tonnes and 7.3% in value to 89.5 million USD.
On the import side, Vietnam spent an estimated 26.68 billion USD on agro-forestry-fishery imports in the first six months of 2026, up 11.7% year-on-year.
Imports of livestock, forestry and agricultural products all posted double-digit growth, the ministry reported./.
