The export value of farming, forestry and aquatic products gained a year-on-year increase of 14.7 per cent, to US$20.45 billion, in the first seven months of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Đình Huệ

HÀ NỘI — The export value of farming, forestry and aquatic products gained a year-on-year increase of 14.7 per cent, to US$20.45 billion, in the first seven months of this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Key farm produce raked in $10.89 billion, up 18 per cent while forestry products brought home $4.41 billion, up 10.8 per cent. 

The US, China and Japan were the three largest export markets of Việt Nam’s timber and timber products in the first half of this year, accounting for 70.2 per cent of total exports of those products.

The markets with strong growth in timber export value included China (29 per cent), Canada (21.8 per cent), the US (18.7 per cent), Germany (10.6 per cent) and South Korea (9.2 per cent).

Việt Nam shipped 3.3 million tonnes of rice, worth $1.5 billion, abroad, up 15.7 per cent in volume and 13.7 per cent in value compared to the January-July period of 2016. China was still the largest export market of Vietnamese rice during the first seven months, the ministry said. The second was the Philippines.

Vietnamese businesses won contracts to supply 175,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines at an open tender on July 25, according to the Việt Nam Food Association.

In addition, domestic rice exporters have also prepared enough supply to deliver rice under the previously signed contracts with Cuba, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Therefore, until the end of the third quarter, Việt Nam’s rice production industry wouldn’t have any trouble selling rice, bringing benefits to farmers.

Nguyễn Thanh Long, Managing Director of Gạo Việt Co., Ltd agreed that the contracts won in the Philippines would have a positive impact on the Vietnamese rice market.

Other products

The ministry said in the first seven months of the year, aquatic products earned $4.31 billion from export, a surge of 17.5 per cent against the same period last year, including $727 million in July. 

The increase was attributed to growth in key export markets, including China by 47.9 per cent, Japan by 32.5 per cent, the Republic of Korea by 27.7 per cent, the UK by 25.3 per cent, the Netherlands by 19.5 per cent and Canada by 18.1 per cent. 

Imports of aquatic products reached $112 million in July, raising the total in the first seven months to $761 million, up 30.1 per cent year on year. In the reviewed period, aquatic production was estimated at nearly 1.96 billion tonnes, up 4.4 per cent year on year, including 1.85 million tonnes of sea catch, up 4.5 per cent from the same period last year and 66.1 percent of the year’s target. Vegetable and fruit exports witnessed a year-on-year rise of 50 per cent in export value to $2.03 billion in the reviewed period.

The outcome was regarded as spectacular progress, as export turnover of the commodity was approximately equivalent to the total amount in 2016 ($2.4 billion). So far, fruits and vegetables have emerged as one of the key exports in the agricultural sector.

Key export markets of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables were China, Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea. In the first six months, the four markets occupied about 84.4 per cent of total export turnover.

In January-June, other markets with rapidly rising import turnovers were the UAE (up 82.3 per cent), Japan (61.6 per cent), Russia (54.9 per cent), mainland China (53.5 per cent), the US (28.6 per cent), Taiwan (18.9 per cent), the RoK (12.3 per cent), and the Netherlands (11.6 per cent).

Meanwhile, coffee and cashew nut exports maintained stable growth in the period thanks to higher prices. The country earned $2.12 billion from exporting 937,000 tonnes of coffee and $1.83 billion from shipping 186,000 tonnes of cashew nuts.

The export value of rubber also recorded a strong surge, reaching $1.13 billion, 59 per cent higher than the same period last year. Pepper export turnover suffered an 18 per cent fall to $800 million due to a 30 per cent drop in prices. — VNS