Agro-forestry-fishery exports hit 22.2 billion USD in first seven months

Exports turnover of agro-forestry-fishery products in July was estimated at 2.85 billion USD (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The export turnover of agro-forestry-fishery products in July was estimated at 2.85 billion USD, bringing the total value in the first seven months of 2018 to 22.2 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 7.8 percent.

According to the Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam exported 11.6 billion USD worth of farm produce from January to July, up 3.6 percent against the same period last year.

Markets seeing strong export growth included Indonesia in rice, coffee, and rubber; Russia in coffee and cashew nuts; Germany in tea, cashew nuts, pepper, and rubber; Malaysia in rice, tea, wood, vegetables and fruit; the Philippines in rice and coffee; Saudi Arabia in tea; Iraq and Hong Kong in rice; the US in tea, cashew nuts, and pepper; India in rubber and pepper; and Thailand in vegetables and fruit, and aquatic products.

Rice remained one of the biggest hard currency earners. Vietnam earned 1.96 billion USD from selling 3.87 million tonnes of rice abroad, up 29.2 percent in value and 12.2 percent in volume. China continued to be the largest rice importer of Vietnam with 26.8 percent of the market share.

In the seven-month period, Vietnam earned 2.3 billion USD from exporting fruits and vegetables, mainly to China, up 12.6 percent.

The country exported 1.16 million tonnes of coffee worth 2.22 billion USD, up 10.8 percent in volume but down 5.7 percent in value. Germany and the US remained the two biggest consumers of Vietnamese coffee.

Vietnam sold 153,000 tonnes of pepper worth 517 million USD to overseas markets during the January-July period, up 3.7 percent in volume but down 36.1 percent in value.

As many as 696,000 tonnes of rubber were exported in the period, bringing home 997 million USD, up 9.9 percent in volume and down 10.7 percent in value.