AsemconnectVietnam - According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in April was estimated at 4.54 billion USD, down by 8.3% over the same period last year, down by 1.2 million USD compared to the same period last year.

Accordingly, in the first 4 months of 2023, the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products reached 15.66 billion USD, down by 13.3% over the same period last year. The trade surplus of agriculture, forestry and fishery reached 2.51 billion USD, down by 37.7%.
In April, while the exports agricultural products and livestock increased (the exports of agricultural products reached 2.33 billion USD, up by 24%; and the exports of livestock products gained 41 million USD, up by 46.7%); the exports of aquatic products and forest products all decreased, specifically the exports of seafood reached 800 million USD, down by 28.6%; and the exports of forest products reached 1.2 billion USD, down by 29.8%.
Over the past 4 months, a number of items have higher export value than the same period last year, such as the exports of coffee reached 1.7 billion USD, up by 2.5%; vegetables and fruits reached 1.39 billion USD, up by 19.4%; cashew nuts reached 942 million USD, up by 3.4%; meat and by-products reached 45 million USD, up by 63.7%. The highest increase recorded by rice exports, reaching 1.56 billion USD, up by 54.5%.
However, there were also products with reduced export value, such as rubber, reaching 684.8 million USD, down by 20.1%; tea reached 50 million USD, down by 5.8%; pepper reached 325 million USD, down by 10.2%; cassava and cassava products reached 453 million USD, down by 12.1%; wood and wood products reached 3.91 billion USD, down by 30.4%; rattan, bamboo and sedge mats reached 245 million USD, down by 29.2% and pangasius reached 558 million USD, down by 39.9%; shrimp reached 843 million USD, down by 39.6%.
The reason is that the average export price of many agricultural products dropped sharply, specifically the price of pepper decreased by over 34%; fertilizer price was down by 33.6%; and the price of cassava and cassava products fell over 11%.
Regarding the export markets, in the first 4 months of the year, the export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products to the Asian region increased by 2.7%. But the exports to other markets all fell, to the Americas fell by 39.6%; to Europe down by 13%; to Africa down by 21.2%; and to Oceania decreased by 31%.
China, the United States and Japan continued to be the three largest export markets for Vietnam's agricultural, forestry and fishery products. The export value to China accounted for 20.9%, up by 3.3% over the same period last year; the United States accounted for 18.9%, down by 40.5% and to Japan accounted for 8.1%, up by 0.8%.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the reason that the total export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products decreased and the export market continued to face many difficulties was due to the slow growth of the global economy in 2023; influence from the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict; high inflation in some countries around the world, including large import markets for agricultural products of Vietnam (USA, Europe, Japan, South Korea, etc.) reducing consumption demand and import demand.
Besides, many countries promote agricultural product exports and increase supply in the market; while the amount of imported goods in 2022 of some large consumption markets such as the United States, EU, etc. is still large, so many businesses have not signed new export orders. The price of input materials for agricultural, forestry and fishery production is still at a high level, affecting regulation, business administration and farmers' income, as well as the profit of the farmers.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to promote market development, remove barriers, and facilitate domestic consumption and export. The ministry will also focus on removing difficulties and obstacles, minimizing negative impacts of the epidemic and domestic and international market fluctuations.
Moreover, the Ministry will organize activities such as sending delegations to work with Yunnan and Guangxi (China) provinces to promote trade in agricultural products; organizing the Forum "970" to connect trade and promote consumption of spices and vegetables to the EU market; preparing to organize a series of events to promote Vietnam's key agricultural products in the UK.
CK
Source: VITIC/ttxvn