Target of $40 billion agro-forestry-seafood export turnover obtainable

The set target of US$40 billion agricultural, forestry and seafood export turnover this year is likely to be obtainable, according to deputy Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan.
The leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development visits a litchi orchard in Bac Giang province (Photo: SGGP)
The leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development visits a litchi orchard in Bac Giang province (Photo: SGGP)
The General Statistics Office of Vietnam under the ministry reported that agricultural, forestry and seafood export turnover reached US$32.6 billion in the first ten months this year, up 8.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
For the last three years, the export turnover posted a strong growth of 12.17 percent a year. It was 9.7 percent in 2011-2015.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has many times stressed that the country has maintained ten groups of commodities with the export turnover of from $1 billion and more. They comprise rice, rubber, coffee, pepper, cashew nut, cassava, vegetables, shrimp, pangasius fish, wood and wooden items.
Of these, five have been present in the list of $3 billion export turnover namely vegetables, rubber, coffee, shrimp and wooden products. Notably, fruit export has exceeded crude oil since 2016.
According to Mr. Cuong, Vietnam is topping the export list of pepper, cashew nut and pangasius fish, ranking second in coffee, third in rice and shrimp and fifth in forestry products.
Vietnamese farm produce have been present in 180 nations and territories in the world.
Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that rice export price has been increasing since the end of 2017. Vietnamese rice price is now $50-100 a ton higher than products of Thailand, Pakistan and India. Vietnam is expected to outstrip rivals in the region and the world.
For the last five years, scientists, businesses and farmers have methodically established production chains. Businesses have coordinated with farmers to produce rice according to market demand and focused on developing brand names for Vietnamese rice.
Livestock Production Department said that breeding products’ export turnover increased to $455 million in the first ten months of 2018. Of these, poultry and milk export turnover was 2-2.5 times the number last year.
Acting head of the department Nguyen Xuan Duong said that pork and poultry products have recently been accepted in Asian region. They mainly served domestic market in previous years.
Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy head of Export Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that Vietnam now has six large export markets accounting for 77 percent of the country’s total export turnover. They include China, the US, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN and EU.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the competitive ability and position of Vietnam’s agricultural industry have been improving, contributing to the country’s international integration. Many farm produces have better met standards in export markets.
Many free trade agreements have been signed opening lot of opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and seafood products of Vietnam. However they also bring technical barriers.
The Government and ministries have positively assisted businesses to seek and expand export markets.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have sped up negotiations to solve technical barriers and export Vietnamese farm produce to strict markets such as the US, Australia and Japan.

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