The agricultural sector hopes to focus on increasing high added value agricultural products, efficiency and sustainable development.— Photo Vietpress

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The agricultural sector will seek strong growth in production and business this year, after recording increases in exports last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

In 2015, the agricultural sector expects to see an increase of 3-3.3 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP), a year-on-year surge of 3.5-3.7 per cent in the value of production and US$32 billion in the value of farming exports, forestry and seafood products, compared to $30.8 billion in 2014, reported vietnamplus.vn.

Also, the agricultural sector hopes to focus on increasing high added value agricultural products, efficiency and sustainable development.

In 2015 the local economy is expected to further integrate into the global economy, which will cause the agricultural sector to continue reviewing and adjusting plans and structures of production to increase productivity, as well as the quality and efficiency of exports and local markets, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat.

To raise the total export value of the sector to $32 billion this year, the ministry will actively work to implement existing multilateral and bilateral agreements, including with the World Trade Organisation and regional free trade commitments.

Officials noted that it will stand side by side with exporters by updating them on foreign markets' latest trade policies and jointly devising feasible market strategies for added-value products.

To extend its commercial reach, the ministry will also promote marketing activities and promptly deal with technical and trade barriers.

According to the MARD, Viet Nam gained a year-on-year increase of 11.2 per cent in the export value of farming, forestry and fisheries products to $30.8 billion for 2014, despite lackluster demand in markets throughout the world.

The farming, forestry and fisheries sector also posted an estimated $9.5 billion in its trade surplus, a rise of 7.7 per cent.

The ministry said, in 2014, that the value of most export products has surged against previous years, though 2014 has not been a promising year for the consumption of farm products at home or abroad.

Demand for farm products on the world market has continued falling since 2012 because key export markets of Vietnamese farm products, such as the European Union (EU), the US, Japan and the Philippines, have seen slow recoveries and low purchasing power to directly affect exports from Viet Nam.

However, seafood and forestry exports had strong growth in export values to push the sector's total export value up last year.

Seafood took in $7.92 billion, marking a yearly growth of 18.4 per cent, with the US making up 21.81 per cent of the total export value and becoming the leading seafood importer for Viet Nam.

Also, wood and wooden products enjoyed an increase of 11.1 per cent in earnings, at $6.2 billion last year. The US, China and Japan are the largest buyers of wood products, accounting for 66 per cent of the total export volume. — VNS