AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam’s export turnover of agro-forestry-fishery products in the first half of 2023 reached 24.59 billion USD, down by 11.1% over the same period of 2022 and it is forecasted that the whole year 2023, the figure may reach 54 billion USD, according to Mr. Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development at a press conference held recently in Hanoi.

The export picture is bright and dark
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, thanks to proactively removing obstacles to increase exports in difficult conditions of new orders (especially seafood and forest products) and market barriers, the total turnover agro-forestry-fishery exports in the first 6 months of 2023 reached 24.59 billion USD, down by 11.1% over the same period of 2022.
The exports of the main group of agricultural products in the first half of this year reached 12.79 billion USD, up by 12%; the exports of livestock products reached 232 million USD, up by 26.5%; the exports of seafood reached 4.13 billion USD, down by 27.4%; the exports of the main forest products reached 6.5 billion USD, down by 28.2%; the exports of the production inputs reached 940 million USD, down by 28.9%; while the exports of salt reached 2.4 million, down by 14.2%.
There were 7 products and groups with export value of over 1 billion USD in the first half of this year, including coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, cashew nuts, shrimp, wood products. Specifically, in the first 6 months of 2023, coffee exports reached 2.4 billion USD; rubber reached 1.05 billion USD; rice reached 2.3 billion USD; vegetables and fruits reached 2.75 billion USD; cashew nuts reached 1.6 billion USD; shrimp reached 1.56 billion USD; and wood products reached 4.07 billion USD.
Rice and cashew nuts were two products that saw export turnover increased in both volume and value. Specifically, rice exports increased by 22.2% in volume and 34.7% in export value; cashew exports increased by 10.5% in volume and 7.7% in export value; coffee alone decreased in volume (reaching 1.02 million tonnes, down by 2.2%), but thanks to the average export price increased by 5.2%, the export value reached 2.4 billion USD, up by 3% .
Talking about the bright spots of vegetables and fruits in the 6-month export picture, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong - Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - informed that Vietnam has a small area for cultivation, but the price is very low. The export value of vegetables and fruits is not inferior to other countries, and our agricultural products are exported to all countries and territories. With the trend of industrialization and services, it is possible to reduce output, however, with the focus on quality, in addition to fresh products, it is necessary to increase deep processing of products. At the same time, if there is any involvement of businesses, associations and authorities, the goal of fruit and vegetable export can be reached 10 billion USD.
Besides the bright color picture, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet - Director of the Planning Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) – assessed that, in the first 6 months of 2023, the agricultural sector faced difficulties in both domestic and international markets. For export, the prices of some commodities fell, especially pork, while input prices did not drop and were still at a high level, affecting the production life of farmers.
Wood and wood products were the commodities with a sharp decrease in export turnover in the first half of 2023. According to Mr. Trieu Van Luc - Deputy Director of the Department of Forestry - Information, the export value of forest products in the first half of 2023 reached about 6.42 billion USD, down by 28%. The trade surplus was at 5.32 billion USD, equivalent to 70% of the same period last year.
The reason is that the export of wood and wood products to 5 major markets, namely the United States, EU, China, Japan, and South Korea, all dropped sharply. Partly due to high inflation, EU and US consumers tightened their spending wood products; the signing and opening of new orders are not further developed. The price of chips and pellets fell sharply, the cost of raw materials and input production materials increased due to the impact of conflicts. In addition, there was also immediate impact of the investigation of anti-tax evasion, anti-dumping plywood, kitchen cabinets, dressing tables. Besides, businesses are facing difficulties in terms of mechanisms and policies, social insurance costs, value added tax refund.
The exports of the whole industry may reach 54 billion USD
Commenting on the export picture in the last 6 months of the year, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep - Director of the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Management Department (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the market picture has not yet been released. There are clear signs of recovery, inventories of both importers and domestic enterprises are high, and demand is still low.
Besides the reduced export difficulties, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep said that the export markets in general and the EU market in particular also set increasingly strict requirements.
If in the past, the EU market required chain control and traceability for an exporter to register and this business was purchased through primary processors or agents, then under the new EU law, there is only exception for the initial production stage, all subsequent stages from preliminary processing, processing, logistics, and general cold storage must be registered.
The EU market is the leading market for the regulations of the world export market, according to which, if previously there were regulations related to food safety, now there are issues related to development. We need regulatory policies on traceability to meet market requirements.
"So, besides commercial factors, technical factors are also issues that businesses need to pay attention to ensure that export markets will be expanded, not narrowed," Mr. Information Nguyen Nhu Tiep.
The target set for the whole year of 2023, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products will reach 54-55 billion USD. To achieve this goal, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet said that it is necessary to implement solutions to affect key export products with high prospects and high ability to increase export value to offset the expected products that may not reach the target of export turnover for the whole year. Accordingly, the exports of main agricultural products are expected to reach 25 billion USD; forest products and wooden furniture 17 billion USD; seafood 10 billion USD; and other items about 3 billion USD.
“In order to achieve the same export turnover as last year, the growth in export turnover must increase by 7-8% every month. With a target of 54-55 billion USD, besides completing legal documents, market opening and trade promotion are very important. Without the market, it is impossible to produce," said Mr. Nguyen Van Viet.
Concluding speech at the press conference, Mr. Phung Duc Tien assessed that the exports in the first 6 months of the year reached 24.59 billion USD, a decrease compared to the same period last year. The exports of vegetables and fruits reached USD 2.75 billion, up by 64.2%, the exports of rice reached 2.3 billion USD (up by 34.7%), and the exports of cashew nuts reached 1.6 billion USD (up by 7.7%), etc.
“In terms of market, China rose to hold the No. 1 position in the picture of agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in the first six months of the year.
With the efforts of the whole industry, by the end of the year, it is possible for the exports of agro-forestry-fishery products to reached 54 billion USD, even in difficult circumstances," said Mr. Phung Duc Tien.
CK
Source: VITIC/congthuong.vn