Vegetables, fruits and aquatic products continue to lead growth.
According to Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in June 2026 alone, export value of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products is estimated at US$6.34 billion, a 3% increase compared to the previous month and a 10.1% increase compared to the same period in 2025. For the first six months, total export value of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products reached US$35.88 billion. Of this, agricultural products reached US$18.59 billion; aquatic products reached US$5.7 billion, an increase of 11.4%; and forestry products reached US$9.2 billion, an increase of 4.6%. Livestock products reached nearly $376 million, a significant increase of 34.6%; production input group increased by nearly 80%.
Notably, fruits and vegetables continued to be a standout growth sector, reaching $3.65 billion, a 17.7% increase compared to the same period last year. China remains the largest consumer market, accounting for more than half of Vietnam's total fruit and vegetable exports. Exports to this market increased by nearly 28%, while the United States and South Korea also recorded double-digit growth.
Seafood also maintained its positive recovery momentum with a turnover of $5.7 billion. China emerged as the strongest growth market, increasing by over 41%, helping to offset the decline in the US market.
In forestry group, export of wood and wood products reached $8.54 billion, a 4.4% increase. Although the United States remains the largest market, accounting for nearly 50% of total export value, export to this market decreased by 8%, while exports to China increased by as much as 49%, showing that trend of market diversification is proving effective.
Several other commodities also recorded positive signs. Cashew nuts reached $2.39 billion, an increase of 1.6% in value; pepper reached nearly $946 million, an increase of 11.6%; and rice reached 5.2 million tonnes, an increase of nearly 10% in volume.
Falling prices and market differentiation are putting pressure on many sectors.
Besides bright spots, export picture still shows many challenges as export value growth has not kept pace with value growth in many key commodities. Coffee is a prime example. In the first six months of the year, exports increased by nearly 10%, reaching 1.1 million tonnes, but the value only reached US$4.78 billion, a decrease of 14.4% due to a 22% drop in average export prices compared to the same period last year.
Similarly, rice export increased by nearly 10% in volume but decreased by 2.5% in value, as the average export price fell by more than 11%. Rubber export also decreased in both volume and value, although the average selling price edged up by nearly 4%. Tea continued to face difficulties as both volume and value decreased compared to the same period last year, reflecting weakening consumer demand in some traditional markets.
From a market perspective, Asia continued to be the largest importing region, accounting for 44.4% of Vietnam's total agricultural, forestry and fisheries export value. Export to this region increased by 11%, while exports to Oceania increased by over 21%.
By market, China continues to be the largest partner with a 21.3% market share and a growth rate of 23.1%. Japan maintained a slight increase of 1.6%. Meanwhile, export to the United States decreased by 3.6%, reflecting the fact that consumer demand has not fully recovered and pressure from trade barriers.
Distinction also occurred within each product category. Many emerging markets recorded very high growth rates, such as China for coffee, Iraq for rice, Mexico for rubber and the Netherlands for wood. This shows that businesses are gradually expanding their markets instead of relying on traditional markets.
Ministry of Agriculture and Environment assessed that results of the first six months of the year show that exports of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products continue to maintain growth momentum amidst the volatile global trade environment. However, downward price pressure on many key commodities, along with a decline in some major markets, necessitates continued diversification of export markets, improvement of product quality, increased proportion of deep processing and better compliance with technical standards of importing markets to maintain sustainable growth in the remaining months of the year.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn