In May, the export turnover of the agro-forestry-fishery sector reached an estimated $6.28 billion, a significant increase of 19.6% compared to the same period in 2024.
Cumulatively, for the first five months of this year, the total export value surpassed $28 billion, marking a remarkable 15% rise from the previous year.
Mr. Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MENV), commented on these achievements: “We are steadily advancing towards the $70 billion export target set by the Government. However, given the volatile market conditions, we must persist in our efforts to ensure sustainable growth.”
Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Asia remains the primary destination for Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products, accounting for 42% of the total market share. Other key markets include the Americas (23%) and Europe (16.1%), while Africa and Oceania hold 3.3% and 1.3%, respectively. The most notable growth was witnessed in Europe (a surge of 46.8%) and Africa (a remarkable 94.1%), indicating significant potential for market expansion.
Analyzing by country, the top three export markets for Vietnam are the United States (20.5%), China (17.3%), and Japan (7.3%). Exports to the US and Japan exhibited robust increases of 14.1% and 25.9%, respectively, while exports to China experienced a slight dip of 0.2%.
The impressive export growth is largely attributed to the strong performance of key commodities such as wood and wooden products ($6.99 billion), coffee (835,900 tons, earning $4.79 billion), seafood ($4.11 billion), rice (4.5 million tons, generating $2.34 billion), and fruits and vegetables ($2.24 billion).
One notable highlight in the agricultural export landscape is the progress made with durian – a fruit deemed highly beneficial to the industry. Initial hurdles in the Chinese market have been overcome through the efforts of Minister of MENV, Do Duc Duy, who negotiated directly with the General Administration of Customs of China. As a result, Vietnam has secured the recognition of an additional 829 growing area codes and 131 packaging facilities. Furthermore, China has officially cleared 24 tons of frozen durian for import, paving a promising path for this “king of fruits.”
Processing seafood for export. Image source: Vietnam+.
Moving forward, Mr. Phung Duc Tien emphasized that the agriculture sector will focus on developing domestic and international consumption markets. This entails addressing market-related issues to sustain and expand exports to the US, China, Japan, and the European Union, leveraging free trade agreements, and enhancing domestic connections through e-commerce platforms like Postmart, Shopee, Tiki, TikTok, and Zalo.
The Deputy Minister of MENV underscored: “In the following period, exports of agro-forestry-fishery products will remain stable if we persist in innovating production towards reduced emissions, embracing circular economic models, effectively controlling diseases, and safeguarding national food security.”
