According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), aquatic products, rice, wood and wooden furniture, coffee and rubber, have joined the group of 11 export staples with turnover exceeding US$1 billion for the reviewed period.

However, the ministry said that earnings from farm product exports in October dropped by 7 percent against the previous month, registering just US$1.4 billion for the month, despite a year-on-year increase of 25.6 percent.

This decrease in export revenue is being attributed to the decline in the prices of many key agricultural products due to the global financial crisis. The price of rice dropped to US$587 per tonne from US$800 in September, while the cost of cashew nuts fell to US$5,400 per tonne from US$6,500 in early August. The price of pepper also dropped by 20-25 percent.

Experts predict that local exporters will find it increasingly difficult to win new contracts as the price of rice continues to fall, while demand for rice in the global market is expected to drop in the near future.

Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dang Kim Son, said that prices of agricultural products tend to fluctuate rapidly when supply is unstable.

Vietnam has a golden opportunity to expand its markets for consumable farm produce such as rice, due to the fact that many countries are currently unable to produce enough to meet domestic demand.

The MARD has advised local farmers and businesses to improve the quality of agricultural products for export in order to sharpen competitiveness and expand into new overseas markets to reduce their dependence on traditional consumer markets.