Nine month's agro-forestry-fisheries exports surge 15.2 per cent

Exports of farm produce and forestry products hit $16.83 billion and $8.53 billion, up 7.5 per cent and 38 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

Việt Nam enjoyed a year-on-year rise of 15.2 per cent in the export revenue of agro-forestry-fisheries products in the first nine months of 2022 with figures reaching an estimated US$40.79 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced on Monday.

Of the sum, exports of farm produce and forestry products hit $16.83 billion and $13.3 billion, up 7.5 per cent and 38 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

Agricultural and forestry products recording an export turnover of over $2 billion included wood and wooden goods with over $12.4 billion, up 11.4 per cent; coffee with nearly $3.1 billion, up 38 per cent; rubber ($2.3 billion, up 8 per cent) and rice ($2.6 billion, up 9.3 per cent). Other goods with a positive export value were cassava and cassava-made products (over $1 billion, up 21 per cent) and pepper ($774 million, up 8 per cent).

At the same time, that of livestock reached $265.5 million, down 18.4 per cent and production input topped $1.89 billion, up 50 per cent.

During the nine months, exports of fishery products also saw a significant increase of 38 per cent to $8.5 billion. In September alone, seafood exports hit $850 million, up 36 per cent year-on-year, with tra fish recording the highest growth of 97 per cent to $161 million.

Inflation has reduced the demand for many seafood products. Still, tra fish remained an advantageous export item of Việt Nam thanks to its affordable price, the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has said.

Meanwhile, shrimp exports topped nearly $350 million in September, surging 13 per cent year-on-year. The increase, however, was the lowest level seen among main export products.

According to VASEP, the lack of raw shrimp and the slowing demand in export markets due to inflation resulted in a decline in shrimp exports in September compared to the previous month.

In nine months, shrimp exports had brought in nearly $3.4 billion, a yearly hike of 23 per cent, while tra fish exports earned nearly $2 billion, up 82 per cent yearly.

Lê Hằng, deputy director of the VASEP’s Trade Promotion and Training Centre said the CPTPP-member countries imported nearly $2.2 billion worth of Vietnamese seafood products in the period, up 41 per cent over the same period last year. The US and the EU were the runners-up with respective import turnover of $1.4 billion and over $1 billion, up 22 per cent and 41 per cent.

Meanwhile, seafood shipments to China saw the highest growth of 76 per cent to $1.35 billion from January to September, Hằng noted.

Although China is an unpredictable market, it is still the target market of Vietnamese seafood enterprises in the last months of the year because the demand of this neighbouring market has been recovering, industry insiders say.

The close geographical factors have also made the Chinese market a choice of many domestic enterprises, especially in the context that transportation costs and congestion are still a big global trade problem.

Thanks to this positive export performance in the first nine months, the country's seafood exports are well on track to fulfilling the yearly $10 billion target by the end of November.

Overall, the total export turnover of agro-forestry-fisheries products is expected to hit $55 billion by the year-end, $5 billion higher than the Government's goal.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phùng Đức Tiến told the press conference on Monday that from now until the end of this year, his ministry would continue to accelerate the restructuring of the industry, improve productivity and quality and reorganise production according to specialised farming areas.

The ministry had guided localities, especially key rice growing, livestock and aquaculture areas to draw up production plans suitable to the market's needs, Tiến said.

He added ensuring the sustainable development of the livestock industry to provide a sufficient supply of food and pork, especially during the upcoming Tết holiday, would be also included.

Furthermore, the ministry would actively team up with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to research and deliver analysis and forecasts of the global demand and supply of agro-forestry-fisheries goods.

Top priority would be also given to facilitating the application and transfer of science and technology and improving productivity and quality of agricultural products, Tiến said.