AsemconnectVietnam - In the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam’s imports of several key agricultural products recorded high growth, especially in the group of raw materials for production and processing.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the total import value of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products in the first three months of 2026 reached US$11.9 billion, an increase of 3.6%, compared to the same period of 2025. In particular, many items such as corn, wheat, cashew nuts, and animal feed recorded high import value growth. Notably, many items have reached or were close to the billion USD mark after only the first three months of the year, reflecting the continued increase in demand for input materials along with the recovery of the livestock, food processing, and export industries.
Among imported agricultural products, corn was the largest item, with import volume reaching 4.1 million tonnes and value reaching US$1 billion, a sharp increase of 90.2% in volume and 83.4% in value compared to the same period of 2025.
This high increase showed that the demand for raw materials for animal feed production is clearly recovering, especially in the context of a slight downward trend in world corn prices (down by 3.5%). Brazil and Argentina continued to be the two main suppliers, accounting for nearly 80% of total import value.
The fact that corn reached the US$1 billion mark in the first quarter of 2026 reflects the essential role of this raw material in the domestic livestock production and food processing chain.
Besides corn, animal feed and raw materials were also two groups of goods that reached import values exceeding US$1 billion. In the first quarter, animal feed and raw materials continued to be one of the largest import groups in the agricultural sector, with a value exceeding US$1 billion, a decrease of 9.5% compared to the same period of 2025.
Despite the decrease compared to the previous year, this group of goods still maintained its position as one of the agricultural import items reaching the billion-dollar mark in the early months of the year, reflecting the stable demand of the livestock and industrial feed production industries.
In terms of markets, the United States, Argentina, and China continued to be the three main suppliers, accounting for 26.5%, 21.7%, and 9.8% respectively of Vietnam's total import value of animal feed and raw materials. However, the supply structure is undergoing a notable adjustment as the import value from these markets is fluctuating in a divergent direction.
Specifically, in the first two months of 2026, imports from the US market increased sharply by 48.8%, indicating a growing trend of importing from a stable and high-quality source.
Conversely, the imports from Argentina decreased significantly by 62%, reflecting adjustments in supply or the impact of price and logistics factors. Meanwhile, imports from China increased by 33.3%, showing the growing role of the regional market in supplementing raw materials.
Notably, among the top 15 import markets, the value of animal feed and raw material imports increased most sharply in Canada, with a 2.6-fold increase, while the sharpest decrease was in Brazil, with a 66.8% reduction. This trend shows that businesses are proactively restructuring their supply sources to optimize costs and reduce dependence on certain traditional markets.
Regarding cashew nuts, in the first quarter of the year, imports of this commodity reached over $1 billion, an increase of 13.1% compared to the same period last year. Vietnam continues to import large quantities of raw cashews from African and Southeast Asian markets to serve processing and export, with Tanzania, Cambodia, and Ivory Coast being the main suppliers.
This reflects the unique characteristic of Vietnam's cashew industry, which is heavily dependent on imported raw materials to maintain processing and export capacity.
Previously, in 2025, Vietnam's cashew exports reached a total value of $5.2 billion, the highest ever. However, this was also the year Vietnam spent $4.5 billion to import more than 2.9 million tonnes of raw cashews for processing and export; therefore, the trade surplus of the entire industry only reached over $700 million.
Notably, livestock product imports continued to maintain a large scale and joined the group of goods reaching billion-dollar import value in the first quarter. Specifically, the value of livestock product imports in March of 2026 was estimated at US$384.2 million, bringing the total import value of this group in the first three months of the year to US$1.2 billion, a 10% increase compared to the same period of 2025. This growth reflects the continued high demand for domestic food consumption and processing, while also showing a certain dependence on imported supplies for some essential products.
In terms of structure, milk and dairy products were the fastest-growing group, with an import value of US$410.7 million, a 20.6% increase compared to the same period last year. This indicates that the demand for nutritional products, especially in the processing and urban consumption segments, continues to expand.
Meanwhile, imports of meat and meat by-products reached US$429.5 million, a slight decrease of 0.9%, indicating a certain improvement in domestic supply, helping to reduce import pressure on some types of meat.
A notable point in the first quarter was that wheat recorded the highest growth rate among imported agricultural products. Import volume reached 3 million tons, an increase of 84.5%, while the value reached US$603.8 million, an increase of 40.3% compared to the same period last year. This growth occurred against the backdrop of a sharp 23.9% decrease in the average price of imported wheat, creating favorable conditions for businesses to increase imports for food production and processing.
Vietnam's wheat supply is becoming increasingly diversified, with main markets including Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the United States, showing a trend of expanding supply sources to reduce dependence on a few traditional markets.
Meanwhile, rubber imports reached US$707.4 million, a slight increase in volume but a 4.7% decrease in value due to a 7.7% drop in average import price. This reflects the price adjustment trend in the international market and also shows that the demand for rubber imports for production remains stable.
Overall, the structure of agricultural imports in the first quarter of 2026 showed an increasing trend in the import of raw materials for production, especially in the livestock and export processing industries.
CK
Source: VITIC/tapchikinhtetaichinh.vn