Hanoi (VNA) – Agro-forestry-fisheries exports in the first eight months of this year fetched a whopping 40.08 billion USD, while imports were 28.8 billion USD. This resulted in a trade surplus of 11.8 billion USD, a surge of 68.4% over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
In August alone, agro-forestry-fisheries exports hit 5.55 billion USD, a rise of 12.3% year. Revenue from major agricultural products reached 2.99 billion USD, up 22.6%, key forestry products 1.45 billion USD, and major fisheries products 900 million USD. At the same time, livestock export turnover was 46.5 million USD, down 4.8%.
In the Jan-June period, upturn was seen in shipments of most commodity groups. The highest increase came in the export of agricultural products at 24% to 21.32 billion USD, followed by forestry products 19.7% to 10.97 billion USD, and aquatic products 7.6% to 6.23 billion USD. Livestock and production input exports went down 0.3% and 6.8% to 324 million USD and 1.23 billion USD, respectively.
According to the MARD, some key exports posting high turnover were timber and wood products 10.24 billion USD, up 20.6%; coffee 4.03 billion USD, up 36.1%; rice nearly 3.85 billion USD, up 21.7%; fruits and vegetables 4.63 billion USD, up 30.6%; shrimp 2.4 billion USD, up 9.5%; and tra fish 1.19 billion USD, up 8.2%.
Average export prices of many agricultural products also increased significantly, including rice up by 14.8% to 625 USD per tonne, coffee 54.5% to 3,805 USD per tonne, rubber 16.6% to 1,567 USD per tonne, pepper 47% to 4,810 USD per tonne and tea 2.2% to 1,756 USD per tonne. Only cashew prices saw a slight drop of 1% to 5,701 USD per tonne.
The US, China, and Japan remained the three largest export markets for Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products. Shipments to the US accounted for 21.4% of Vietnam’s total agricultural export value, up 23.5%. China made up 20.4%, up 10.2% and Japan 6.7%, up 4.6%.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that the focus will be on accelerating domestic consumption and promoting exports in the remaining months of this year. Also important is taking advantage of trade deals and enhancing negotiations for official exports to China, the US and the EU. The Ministry advised exporters to take advantage of international trade agreements, especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to boost the exports of key agricultural, forestry and fishery products. It pledged to support businesses in signing new export orders.
Efforts will also be made to strengthen and expand potential markets such as Muslim countries, the Middle East and Africa, the ministry said.
In August, during Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s state visit to China, the two sides signed three protocols for Vietnam’s official exports of fresh coconuts, frozen durian and crocodiles to China, opening significant opportunities for farming.
Vietnam and the US in August also reached an agreement on technical requirements for passion fruit to be exported to the US and initiated reviews for seedless lemons, guava and jackfruit./.
