Agricultural, forestry, fisheries exports up sharply in January

Rubber was the best performer in the opening month of the year, following on from its uptrend last year and totalling 200,000 tonnes worth US$321 million, increases of 2.2-fold and 2.4-fold, respectively, year-on-year.

Shipments of key forestry products totalled US$1.33 billion, up 47.8% year-on-year. Exports of wood and timber products alone reached US$1.25 billion, up 48.4%.

Fisheries exports rose 19.6% to about US$600 million, following repeated declines last year, especially after the outset of COVID-19.

Prawn exports experienced the highest growth last year among all fisheries items, up 11% to US$3.7 billion.

Several major export earners, meanwhile, declined in January, including rice, fruit and vegetables, coffee, and pepper.

The country exported around 280,000 tonnes of rice for US$154 million in the month, down 29.5% and 20.2%, respectively, from a year earlier.

A similar trend was seen in fruit and vegetables, with shipments reaching just US$260 million, a year-on-year decline of 7.6%.