Agro, forestry, aquatic trade surplus doubles in nine months

Vietnam’s foreign trade of agro, forestry and aquatic products hit some 74.7 billion USD in the first nine months of 2022, a year-on-year rise of 10.7%, according to latest data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Exports reached about 40.8 billion USD while imports totalled 33.9 billion USD, up 15.2% and 5.7%, respectively, year-on-year, and this means the trade surplus of the sector mounted to 6.9 billion USD, doubling the same period last year.

In September alone, exports spurred 28.7% compared to the same month last year to over 4.2 billion USD. However, the figure was 8.8% lower than the previous month’s.

Last month’s export turnover from major agricultural products exceeded 1.8 billion USD, while those from forestry products and seafood stood at over 1.3 billion USD and 900 million USD, respectively.

During the nine-month period, Vietnam exported more than 16.8 billion USD worth of key agro products, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Shipments of major forestry products valued around 13.3 billion USD and seafood, 8.5 billion USD, up 10.8% and 38%, respectively.

Seven products with export revenue surpassing 2 billion USD each include coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables and fruits, shrimp, and wood.

High upturn was seen in the export of coffee (37.6%), cassava (21%), tra fish (83.3%), and shrimp (24.8%).

A downturn, meanwhile, was recorded in some others, including vegetables and fruits (11.1%), cashew nuts (14%), and livestock products (18.4%).

The US remained Vietnam’s largest buyer, spending over 10.5 billion USD which accounts for 25.8% of the total. It was, again, followed by China (7.4 billion USD) and Japan (3.1 billion USD).

A total of 4,597 Production Unit Codes (PUCs) and 1,419 Packing House Codes (PHCs) have been granted in Vietnam, enabling exporters to ship fresh fruits such as dragon fruit, mango, banana, pomelo, longan and lychee to major markets like China, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and Japan.