The total export of Viet Nam's agricultural, forestry and seafood products increased 5.8 per cent year-on-year to US$10 billion during Jan-April this year, according to Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry. - Photo infonet.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — The total export value of Viet Nam's agricultural, forestry, and seafood products increased 5.8 per cent year-on-year to US$10 billion during Jan-April this year, noted Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry.

Of the reported increase, the total export value during these months was estimated to reach $2.63 billion.

In the initial four months, the fisheries industry reported a year-on-year surge of 31.2 per cent to reach $2.2 billion.

The ministry pointed out that the US remained the leading export market for Vietnamese seafood products, accounting for 24.59 per cent of the total seafood export value, reported the Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper.

The seafood export value to the US in the first four months showed an increase of 85 per cent to reach $547.49 million against the same period last year.

Viet Nam's fisheries industry noted an increase in export value of seafood to all its export markets, including Japan (up 19 per cent), South Korea (up 56.1 per cent), and China (up 16.6 per cent).

Viet Nam became the third-largest shrimp exporter and the largest tra fish exporter in the world. Vietnamese seafood products were exported to 156 countries and territories, the ministry claimed.

According to the ministry, the wood processing industry also reported a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent in the total export value to reach $479 million during the initial four months of this year.

The US and China were the two largest export markets for Vietnamese wooden products, accounting for 51.9 per cent of the total export value. The two markets saw a year-on-year surge in export value of 23.32 per cent to the US and of 38.59 per cent to China.

The Viet Nam Wood and Forestry Product Association has forecast Viet Nam's total export value of wooden products to exceed $6.5 billion for this year and to reach $10 billion within the next five years.

However, in the first four months, the industry will have to shell out $861 million for importing wooden products for export processing, doubling against the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, the agricultural sector saw growth in exports of coffee, cashew, and pepper, but reduction in exports of rice, cassava, tea, and rubber.

During the first four months, the ministry remarked that the export value of coffee rose 39.6 per cent in volume to 826,000 tonnes and 30 per cent in value to $1.65 billion compared to the same period last year. Germany and the US were the two largest export markets for Vietnamese coffee products.

According to the Viet Nam Coffee and Cacao Association, the nation will experience a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent in export value of coffee to reach $3 billion for the entire year. 

The export value during the Jan-April period also increased 15.7 per cent to reach $456 million for cashew and 40.4 per cent to reach $493 million for pepper against the same period of last year. 

The products saw a year-on-year drop in export value at 4.7 per cent to $931 million for rice, 17.9 per cent to $429 million for cassava, 10.7 per cent to US$51 million for tea, and 38.4 per cent to US$378 million for rubber.

Rubber export products saw the largest reduction in export value during the first four months of this year, since the average export price of rubber dropped 25.1 per cent to around US$2,000 per tonne against the same period last year, the ministry noted. — VNS