2018 export revenue from cultivated products targeted at $21bn

Photo from baodauthau

MARD target represents increase of 2.2-2.3%.

The cultivation sector aims to earn export revenue of more than $21 billion this year, a year-on-year increase of 2.2-2.3 per cent, the Vietnam News Agency reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as saying.

Localities around Vietnam will continue shifting their crop structure to grow more profitable crops that are adaptive to climate change, such as corn and fruit and vegetables, and will develop aquaculture, especially in the northern, south-central, and central highlands regions.

The Mekong Delta, in particular, will boost the application of high technology to create new varieties of fruit and vegetables and flowers and develop processing and post-harvest preservation technologies.

Vietnam aims to increase its fruit growing area to about 930,000 ha and create high added value products. Each locality will develop large-scale fruit growing areas under good agricultural practices (GAP) and food safety standards in addition to high-technology vegetable and flower production, focusing on major cities.

The agricultural sector will also improve rice quality and reduce production costs via intensive cultivation.

Growing areas for industrial crops such as coffee, rubber, tea, and cashew nuts will be gradually cut, to 645,000, 950,000, 132,000 and 300,000 ha, respectively.

Vietnam earned a record $3.45 billion from fruit and vegetable exports in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 40.5 per cent.

China, Japan, the US, and South Korea were among the largest importers.