Agriculture export value up 20% in Q1
Vietnam exported US$10.61 billion worth of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first quarter of 2021, up 19.7% compared to the same period last year.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in March alone, exports reached US$4.12 billion, up 20% from the same month in 2020 and 57.4% against the previous month.
In the first quarter, the export revenue of the main agricultural goods reached US$4.59 billion and key forestry products US$3.94 billion, while fishery exports were estimated at US$1.69 billion.
Meanwhile, imports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first quarter hit US$7.74 billion, up 44.7%.
However, the agriculture sector saw a year-on-year reduction of 18.2% in trade surplus to US$2.87 billion in the first three months of this year.
Several exports with revenue during January-March that were higher than in the same period last year included rubber, tea, fruit and vegetables, cassava, shrimps and timber, according to the ministry.
Revenue surged by 116% to US$721 million for rubber, 41.5% to US$3.7 billion for timber and wooden products, and 49.2% to US$199 million for rattan, bamboo and sedge products.
There were some products that saw a decrease in export value, such as coffee (down 11.3% to US$771 million), rice (17.4% to US$606 million), cashew (5.8% to US$634 million) and tra fish (pangasius) (2.6% to US$373 million).
In terms of export markets, Asia accounted for 54.4% of total exports, followed by America at 32.2% and Europe at 11.8%.
Exports to Vietnam’s four main markets, namely the US, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, recorded growth rates of 45.8%, 39.5%, 3.4% and 9.5%, respectively.
The ministry said to increase the exports, it will promote international trade promotion activities. At the same time, it will help export firms implement market regulations and overcome technical barriers in agricultural trade in key export markets.
It will also update notices and warnings from trading partners and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries.
For the domestic market, the ministry will collect information about prices, production and supply of agricultural products in localities nationwide, especially localities directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.