Exports for the agriculture, forestry and aquatics sector for the six months leading up to July were down 2.8% year-on-year to US$14.42 billion, according to the latest monthly report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The report showed agricultural exports dropped 5.7% to US$6.93 billion, forestry shipments jumped 8% to US$3.29 billion while aquatic exports sank 16% to US$2.97 billion.
For the six months January-June 3.055 million tonnes of rice were shipped abroad generating US$1.318 billion in revenue, which was down 6.2% in volume and 10.5% in value, MARD reported.
Rice shipments to China were down sharply 19.6% in volume and 22.6% in value but Vietnam’s northern neighbour retained its largest export market status, accounting for 36% of market share.
Exports to Malaysia for the six-months climbed to 7.7% of market share, making it the third largest export market.
Coffee was down 35.8% in volume and 35% in value to 687,000 tonnes at US$1.419 billion with Germany and the US the two largest export markets.
Vietnam tea exports were off 6.7% in volume and 4.1% in value tallying in at 54,000 tonnes with revenue of US$90 million.
The volume of rubber exports increased by 22.3% to 422,000 tonnes but fell 5.1% in value to US$614 million on the back of a 25% on-year nosedive in prices.
Pepper and cassava were bright spots in MARD’s report, enjoying growth in both volume and value.
An estimated 150,000 tonnes of pepper valued at US$1.08 billion were exported for the six months, up 14% in volume and 28.2% in value, while 2.83 million tonnes of cassava were shipped, valued at US$844 million, up 50.5% in volume and 42.6% in value.
