Vietnam enjoyed the largest trade surplus ever, about USD 4 billion, in the first four months of this year, 3.2 times higher than the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
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| Aquatic exports saw the highest growth with 43.7 percent in the first four months of this year, reaching USD 3.6 billion._Photo: vasep.com.vn |
Total trade value in agricultural, forestry and seafood products hit USD 31.8 billion in the first four months, an increase of seven percent year-on-year, the ministry reported.
Of this, exports were worth USD 17.9 billion, up 15.6 percent year-on-year, while imports totaled USD 13.9 billion, down 2.3 percent.
Aquatic exports saw the highest growth during the period at 43.7 percent to reach USD 3.6 billion. Shipments of key agricultural and forestry products exceeded USD 7.4 billion and USD 5.9 billion, up 10.5 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, those of husbandry products plummeted 19 percent year-on-year to USD 105.4 million.
Five export items with revenue exceeding USD 1 billion included coffee, rice, fruits and vegetables, shrimp and timber products.
Notably, exports of coffee and shrimp stood at USD 1.7 billion and USD 1.3 billion, a year-on-year surge of 59.4 percent and 38.6 percent respectively. Export value of tra fish went up 89.6 percent to USD 894 million.
The US remained the largest export market for Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and seafood products with nearly USD 4.9 billion, accounting for 27.3 percent of the total exports. Around 68.2 percent of Vietnam’s exports to the US were timber and wood products.
China came second with over USD 3.2 billion, representing 18.1 percent of total shipments.
The third was Japan with a turnover of nearly USD 1.3 billion, accounting for 7.1 percent of the total exports. The fourth largest export market was the Republic of Korea (RoK) with a value of USD 822 million.
To expand markets and boost exports, MARD would promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation activities. The ministry is preparing to organize a trade delegation for promoting the supply of fruits and seafood in China.
At the same time, MARD will focus on negotiating and completing procedures for risk assessment and inspection to promote the export of mango and chicken meat to the RoK, pomelos and lemongrass to New Zealand; feathers, bird's nests and products made from bird's nest, and milk and dairy products to China; and honey to the EU.
The ministry will also visit pomelo growing areas and irradiation plants to discuss with partners plans to export pomelos to the US.
MARD has also required the departments of agriculture and rural development to monitor and report on prices, production and supply of agricultural products in localities to strengthen support in processing, domestic consumption and export, especially at border gates. Especially, the ministry will provide information about market regulations, and import and export control between Vietnam and China.
Nguyen Quoc Toan, director of the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development under MARD, said that in April, the department worked with the Enterprise Development Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to implement digital transformation in small businesses, and the wider agricultural sector. That would help this sector and enterprises gain more efficiency in production and business, including export of farming, forestry and seafood products in the future.-(VNS/VLLF)
