The total export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first eight months of this year hit US$23.66 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 per cent, according to statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Specifically, export value was $12.6 billion from main farming products, up 17.2 per cent; $5.13 billion from seafood products, up 18.1 per cent; and $5.07 billion from forestry products, an increase of 9.6 per cent compared with the same period last year.
MARD said in August alone, total export value was estimated at $3.1 billion.
The strongest increase was witnessed in the rubber sector with a surge of 11.2 per cent in volume and 52 per cent in value over the same period in 2016. Specifically, the export volume of rubber in August was estimated at 160,000 tonnes at the value of $243 million, increasing the volume of rubber export in the first eight months to 795,000 tonnes and value to $1.36 billion.
The fruit and vegetable sector continued to show strong growth, with a 46.5 per cent increase in value against the same period in 2016. In August, the export value of vegetables and fruits was estimated at $296 million, contributing to the total value of $2.32 billion in eight months.
Aquaculture was the largest contributor to the value of exports. In August, aquatic products reached some $749 million in export value, bringing the volume of seafood exports in the eight months to $5.13 billion, up 18.1 per cent over the same period in 2016.
In addition, the country earned $4.84 billion from wood and wood products in the past eight months, a year-on-year increase of 9.8 per cent.
The rice sector, meanwhile, posted its growth speed with 19.8 per cent increase in volume and 17.5 per cent in value over the same period in 2016.
Rice export volume in August was estimated at 504,000 tonnes, valued at $220 million, bringing the total rice export volume from January to August to an estimated 3.96 million tonnes and worth $1.75 billion.
In addition to commodities with a strong increase, some products such as coffee and cashew saw a decrease in export volume over the same period in 2016 despite the increase in value.
In particular, coffee exports in the first eight months were estimated at 1.02 million tonnes and $2.33 billion, down 19.9 per cent in volume, but up 3 per cent in value over the same period last year.
Cashew exports decreased 1.1 per cent in volume but rose 24.9 per cent in value over the same period in 2016.
The import value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in August was estimated at $2.69 billion, bringing the total import value of the whole industry in the first eight months up to $19.17 billion, up 22.8 per cent over the same period last year.
This sector has, so far this year, reached a trade surplus of $4.5 billion. — VNS