Agro-forestry-aquatic product exports up 5.7% in February

The sector’s import-export value in the first two months of this year was estimated at $11.99 billion, down 16.8% from the same period last year. Its exports accounted for around $6.28 billion, a drop of 22.5%.

After falling to the second position among Vietnam’s importers, China returned to the top spot in the first two months of the year with $1.27 billion or 20.2% of the market share. It was followed by the U.S. with some $1.19 billion; Japan, $563 million; and the Republic of Korea, $302 million.

Items that saw hikes in export revenues included tea, up 5.1%; fruits and vegetables, 17.8%; cassava and cassava products, 32.7%; milk and dairy products, 10.2%; and meat and by-products, 14.2%.

Meanwhile, such staples as coffee, rubber, rice, cashew nuts, pepper, tra fish (pangasius), shrimp, wood and wooded products, and rattan and bamboo products experienced decreases.

To promote the consumption of farm produce, the ministry said it will step up market development, remove barriers and facilitate domestic sales and exports, while utilizing free trade agreements (FTAs), especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The sector will also continue its coordination to support the protection of trademarks and geographical indications for Vietnam’s potential export items abroad. It proposed the government build a decree on the management of Vietnam’s national agricultural product brands.

Representatives from the ministry will hold working sessions with China’s Nanning and Yunnan customs forces to seek ways to promote trade and remove obstacles to agro-forestry-aquatic product exports.

The ministry will also organize a forum on fruit and vegetable exports within the framework of Hortex Vietnam 2023, an International Exhibition & Conference for Horticultural and Floricultural Production and Processing Technology, slated for early March.