Pepper export volume rose by 20.2 per cent to 112,000 tonnes. Photo Hanoimoi

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam pocketed around US$2.39 billion from agricultural and fish exports in September, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The amount has raised the sector's total export turnover in the first nine months of this year to $20.45 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.5 per cent.

Among the export items, pepper and cashew recorded the most impressive growth in both volume and value.

Over the past three quarters, Viet Nam exported a total of 188,000 tonnes of cashew nuts for $1.19 billion, up 16.5 per cent in volume and 9.3 per cent in value.

The US, China and the Netherlands were key markets of Vietnamese cashew, accounting for 34.4 per cent, 16.6 per cent and 10.4 per cent of the country's total export value respectively.

Meanwhile, pepper export volume rose by 20.2 per cent to 112,000 tonnes, earning $743 million, up 16.5 per cent year-on-year.

Wood and wood product exports brought home $389 million in September and $3.77 billion in the past three quarters, up 12 per cent over the corresponding time last year.

The sector's export to major markets such as the US, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea grew strongly, ranging from 7.8 per cent to 49 per cent. The only significant exceptions were the German and French markets.

During the January-September period, seafood exports experienced a rise of 3 per cent year-on-year to $4.61 billion.

The US remains Viet Nam's largest seafood consumer, making up 21.6 per cent of the country's total export value, up 10.6 per cent against the same period last year.

While Viet Nam's fishery export enjoyed remarkable growth in China, Canada and Thailand with 53 per cent, 13.8 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, the figures in Japan, the RoK and Germany dropped by 0.6 per cent, 14.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent.

The country exported around 471,000 tonnes of rice in September, bringing home $214 million. This fell far short of the country's 650,000 tonne target, itself lowered from the 750,000 tonne goal previously set by the Viet Nam Food Association.

In the first nine months of this year, rice export saw decreases of 14.3 per cent in volume and 16.7 per cent in value with 5.35 million tonnes shipped abroad worth $2.35 billion.

China remains Viet Nam's largest rice importer, consuming 1.62 million tonnes or 31.4 per cent of the country's total rice export turnover.

Experts forecast that the fourth quarter will be gloomy picture for the country's rice exporters, saying Vietnamese businesses are finding it hard to seek new contracts.

During the reviewed period, the Vietnamese coffee businesses delivered 1.03 million tonnes to foreign importers, garnering $2.21 billion, down 23.1 per cent in volume and 22.5 per cent in value year-on-year.

With the present performance, experts said the yearly target of $4 billion may be out of reach for the country.

Apart from Germany and the US, the largest overseas drinkers of Vietnamese coffee, countries such as Russia, the UK and Spain have shown their interest as well.

At the same time, Viet Nam's agro-forestry-fishery imports enjoyed an increase of 10 per cent over the same period last year to $13.59 billion. — VNS