Rice collected for exports (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Agro-forestry-fishery shipments abroad brought home an estimated 17.8 billion USD in the first seven months of the year, a year-on year surge of 5.1 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
During the period, some 2.93 million tonnes of rice were sold abroad and yielded 1.32 billion USD, down 18.4 percent and 14.4 percent in quantity and value from the same time last year.
China remained Vietnam’s largest rice importer with more than 35 percent of the market share, followed by Indonesia with 11.6 percent.
Trade to Ghana and the Ivory Coast grew, 41 and 31.3 percent respectively. Sharp drops in rice consumption were seen in the Philippines (54.3 percent), Malaysia (59.2 percent) and Singapore (34.6 percent).
In the same period, the country sold 122,000 tonnes of pepper corn to foreign countries for 988 million USD, increasing 26 percent in volume and 9 percent in value. However, pepper prices slid 13 percent compared to the same period in 2015.
A fall in export prices was also seen in coffee (15.6 percent) and rubber (15 percent). Export value of coffee was 1.98 billion USD while that of rubber was 705 million USD.
69,000 tonnes of tea was exported for 110 million USD, up 4.9 percent in quantity and dwindling 2.1 percent in value.
Of major farm exports, cashew nut posted increases in both volume and value. Total cashew exports in the period picked up 2.5 percent in quantity and 9 percent in value to 189,000 tonnes and 1.46 billion USD.
The value of aquatic product exports in the period contributed 3.65 billion USD to overall January-July agro-forestry-fishery exports, up 3.3 percent.
Key forestry products earned the country 3.98 billion USD, up 0.8 percent
The US, Japan and China were leading buyers of Vietnamese aquatic and wood products.-VNA
