On morning of August 12, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held "Conference to promote agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2025".
There are 3 items with declining export growth
According to report of Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in the first 7 months of 2025, total export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products is estimated at 39.68 billion USD, an increase of 14.7% over the same period in 2024.
In 2024, 10/11 key export items maintained growth in value (except cassava products), but in the first 7 months of 2025, only 8/11 items grew: coffee, rubber, pepper, cashew nuts, cassava and cassava products, livestock, aquaculture, wood and wood products; The three items that have declined since the beginning of the year are rice (2.8 billion USD, down 16.3%), tea with a total export value that is not large but has started to decline since June 2025 (116.9 million USD, down 12.3%), and vegetables and fruits (3.84 billion USD, down 1.1%).
In the first 7 months of 2025, export turnover growth rate continued to be maintained in the US market and grew strongly in regions such as the EU, Japan, the Middle East and Africa. In particular, Chinese market grew slowly and declined in the ASEAN region.
This shows that in the second quarter, industry associations and businesses have been very proactive, sensitive and made efforts to maintain and expand the export of key products to all markets, including products with low export value but with development potential such as processed livestock products.
At the same time, accelerate export orders for advantageous items such as wood and wood products, seafood, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts in traditional market areas such as the United States, EU, Japan and shift to increase exports to potential market areas such as Africa, the Middle East for some product groups facing difficulties in traditional markets such as rice, vegetables and fruits. Faced with uncertain developments in the world market, businesses proactively speeding up the implementation of signed export contracts to the United States, actively searching for and shifting to other export markets, strengthening potential traditional markets, etc. have contributed to good export growth results in the first 7 months of 2025.
The year-end market is forecast to face many difficulties
In the last months of 2025, according to forecasts from World Trade Organization (WTO) and international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), context of global growth facing pressure from many sides, many challenges and uncertainties from geopolitical risks, monetary policies, trade tensions and digital technology trends is reshaping the global supply chain.
Vietnam's traditional agricultural export markets have increased trade barriers, EU market has slow growth and weak consumer demand, China has many economic difficulties, etc.
In addition, ensuring raw material sources for production, processing and export, especially ensuring raw material supply, will lead to the possibility of long-term impacts for the whole year 2026. At the same time, the decline in consumer demand and import of non-essential goods, such as wooden furniture, will occur when the price of goods increases sharply to the end consumers.
Opening new markets immediately will face many difficulties, especially technical barriers such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT). Countries will strengthen the implementation of measures to combat trade fraud, control the origin of goods, traceability and ensure food safety. In addition, the trend of decreasing consumer demand leading to price reductions may negatively impact the export value of some key commodity groups, including rice and vegetables.
Taking advantage of 17 FTAs to break through the market
In the context of major challenges from the market, Vietnam's agricultural exports still have certain relative advantages, especially those with large market shares, stable quality, relatively complete value chains, deep processing capacity, and competitive costs (cashew nuts, pepper, pangasius, frozen shrimp).
In addition, some factors are also opportunities for businesses to research and proactively grasp. The shift and reshaping of the global supply chain creates conditions for emerging economies, including Vietnam. Efforts to promote sustainable agricultural production, reduce carbon emissions, trace origin, and meet international standards help maintain the credibility of importers.
Market expansion opportunities from 17 FTAs that have been signed and come into effect in recent years, not only from large, traditional markets such as the US, EU, Japan, China but also from new potential markets such as the Middle East, Africa, and ASEAN.
Friendly foreign and trade policies, along with the recent active negotiations to sign the market opening protocol, are opportunities to promote the export of potential products, strong specialties, and good quality of Vietnam.
In 2025, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment sets an export turnover target of 65 billion USD, an increase of 3.9% over the same period in 2024. With the export turnover of agriculture, forestry, and fishery products in the first 7 months of 2025 estimated at 39.2 billion USD, the export turnover in the last 5 months of the year needs to reach over 25 billion USD to be able to reach and exceed the target of 65 billion USD for the whole year of the industry.
To achieve the set target, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that from now until the end of the year, the ministry will continue to focus on strengthening market opening measures, promoting exports to large, traditional markets. Make the most of opportunities to promote the export of advantageous products of Vietnam to potential and emerging markets. Pay attention to promoting the domestic consumption market. Diversify product chains and added value.
In addition, the ministry also sets targets for each group of industries and each specific market. Along with the support of ministries, sectors and localities, the participation of industry associations and enterprises is extremely important to achieve the export targets set by the industry.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn