The agricultural sector is still on track for the annual agro-forestry-fishery export target of US$50 billion set by the Prime Minister, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.

Tien revealed that Viet Nam saw agro-forestry-fishery export revenue of US$36 billion in the first eight months of 2022, up 13.1 per cent year-on-year.

Seven products with revenues of over US$2 billion each comprise coffee, rubber, rice, fruit and vegetables, cashew, shrimp, and timber.

"The whole sector has managed to maintain its growth, achieve food security and keep major balances of the economy," he said.

He also noted that the storm season is well underway so the sector needs to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks on crops and livestock.

He was concerned that global economic and political uncertainties, including fuel price hikes, would drive up transportation costs, causing adverse effects on the domestic market.

Credit tightening amid mounting inflation in some countries, China's strict control on the movement of goods, and origin fraud charges against domestic goods are expected to pose further difficulties to agricultural exports, according to the deputy minister.

Tran Quang Bao, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, underscored the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic as the major factors holding back timber exports.

However, he had an optimistic outlook for the future as wood pellet exports have been surging by up to 200 per cent, which is expected to make up for the slowdown in total exports.

He held that wood-derived exports would reach US$16.3 billion this year, or over US$1.4 billion each month, if the sector could keep the August growth pace.

Nguyen Quang Hung, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries, revealed that eight-month fishery exports hit US$7.59 billion.

He said annual fishery exports would rake in US$10 billion if the sector could keep the momentum going by earning roughly US$900 million per month from trade. — VNS