Farm, forestry and aquatic products brought home 12.1 billion USD in export earnings in the first five months of the year, increasing by 10.4 percent from the same period in the year just gone.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the sale of cashew and peppercorn kept growing in both volume and value.

During the five-month period, 98,000 tonnes of cashew were sold abroad for 618 million USD, registering a rise of 11 percent in volume and 11.5 percent in value year on year.

Peppercorn earned 645 million USD from 92,000 tonnes, rising by 42 percent in value and 34 percent in volume.

Wood and wooden products raked in 2.34 billion USD from export, marking a 14 percent increase from the same period last year.

Aquatic products grew 25 percent to 2.83 billion USD. The US remained the leading importer, posting a year-on-year surge of 67 percent. It was followed by Japan, the Republic of Korea and China.

Meanwhile, rice exporters could not reverse the declining trend they have suffered since the beginning of the year.

Over five months, around 2.65 million tonnes of rice were shipped to other countries for a value of nearly 1.2 billion USD, reflecting respective drops of 10 percent and 7 percent year on year.

Making a five-fold rise in volume and a six-fold rise in value, the Philippines rose as the second importer of Vietnamese rice. It accounted for 19 percent of market share, while China topped with 42 percent.

Decreases were also seen in the export of tea and rubber, Vietnam’s strong export lines.-VNA