Trade surplus from agro-forestry-fisheries hit 1.37 billion USD in two months

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Import-export value of agro-forestry-fisheries products hit nearly 11 billion USD in the first two months of 2021, resulting in 1.37 billion USD in trade surplus, up 28.4 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The ministry reported that a year-on-year rise was recorded in the export value of many products such as rubber, tea, cashew, vegetables and fruit and forestry products.

In the first two months of this year, the US remained the largest market of Vietnamese agro-forestry-fisheries products with 2.04 billion USD, up 57.3 percent year on year and accounting for 33.05 percent of the market share. It was followed by China, ASEAN, the EU, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

The export value of aquatic products reached 405 million USD in February, pushing the figure in the first two months of 2021 to over 1 billion USD, up 2.2 percent over the same period last year, reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

According to the association, exports of tra fish saw positive signals since the beginning of this year after consecutive drops in 2020, with a 1.7 percent rise in the first two months of 2021 to 214 million USD.

In January, excepting for China and the EU, upturn was seen in the majority of markets of Vietnamese tra fish, including the US with 51 percent, Mexico 73 percent, Australia 45 percent and Canada 42 percent. Other markets such as Brazil, Colombia, the UK and Russia also experienced an increase of 37-129 percent.

Meanwhile, shrimp export in February was estimated at 160 million USD, down 18 percent year on year, resulting in over 380 million USD in the first two months of 2021, a slight annual fall of 0.8 percent.

At the same time, seafood exports rose 31.4 percent to 264 million USD in January but dropped 21 percent to 156 million USD in February, resulting in the two-month export value of 420 million USD, up 5.5 percent.

The VASEP said that in the first two months of this year, exports of Vietnamese aquatic products were affected by demands of markets amidst COVID-19 pandemic.

The association forecast that aquatic export value in March will reach about 640 million USD, up 1.5 percent over the same period last year thanks to high demand in the US, EU and members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)./.

(VNA)