Agricultural exports rise 22.5% so far this year

The value of agricultural, forestry and seafood exports saw a year-on-year increase of 22.5 per cent in the first 10 months of this year, hitting US$15.6 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In October alone, exports earned $1.72 billion, bringing the total value close to the yearly target, the ministry said.

The increase was attributed to higher export prices and greater international demand.

Rice topped exports in terms of value in the first 10 months, said Nguyen Viet Chien, director of the ministry’s Informatics and Statistics Centre. He said exports grew year on year 4.9 per cent in volume to 5.66 million tonnes, and 9.24 per cent in value to $2.63 million.

Coffee exports were worth $1.4 billion, a slight decline against the same period last year. The export volume grew 1.6 per cent to 973,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, rubber saw the largest growth in value, rising 92 per cent year on year, worth $1.67 billion. The volume of rubber exports surged 7.7 per cent to 603,000 tonnes in the first 10 months. The increase was attributed to falling supply from other rubber exporters such as Thailand and growing demand in China and India.

Viet Nam’s tea exports surged 11 per cent to $162 million in the first 10 months of the year, making it the fifth largest tea exporter in the world.

Meanwhile, exports of seafood, timber and wooden products were also buoyant. Exports of timber and wooden products rose 35 per cent in value to $2.73 billion. Seafood exports rose 14.46 per cent in value to $3.98 billion.

Nguyen Thanh Bien, deputy minister of industry and trade, said at a trade conference yesterday that exports of farming products would continue to increase because of rising prices and growing domestic supply.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development expects seafood exports to reach $4.81 billion this year. The value of timber and wooden products are expected to reach $3.2 billion, while rice exports are predicted to be worth $2.35 billion. Meanwhile, rubbers exports are on course to hit $2.3 billion, while coffee exports are likely to be worth $1.8 billion, Bien said.

Bien said he expected exports to continue rising, hitting $70 billion by the year-end – 23 per cent higher than 2009.

To meet expectations, exports needed to earn $12 billion in the two remaining months of the year, Bien said.

Meanwhile, imports are expected to be worth $82.5 billion this year, surging 18 per cent against 2009. The trade deficit is forecast to be $12.5 billion or 17.8 per cent of the year’s total export turnover.

During the first 10 months, exports across the board grew 23 per cent to reach $57.8 billion, far in excess of the yearly target of 6 per cent set earlier by the National Assembly, Bien said.

Phan Van Chinh, head of the ministry’s Import-Export Department, said there had been a shift in the period’s export structure.

Exports of manufactured goods reached 68.2 per cent of the total, against 63 per cent for the same period last year. Meanwhile, the ratio of mineral exports dropped from 16 per cent to 11 per cent, Chinh said.

Several items recorded significant growth such as steel which hit 190 per cent; chemicals, 188 per cent; and rubber, 81 per cent.

Garment exports

Garment exports are expected to reach $11 billion this year, $500 million higher than the yearly target, said Nguyen Son, the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association vice chairman.

October will see the industry’s exports surpass $1 billion for the fourth consecutive month. Total exports by the end of this month are expected to be worth $9.16 billion, a year-on-year rise of 22 per cent, Son said.

Over the past 10 months, exports to traditional markets such as the EU, Japan, the US and Russia have grown 5-20 per cent.

Meanwhile, exports to South Korea surged 80 per cent thanks to the country’s signing of a free trade agreement with ASEAN.

Son said many garment exporters had orders up to the end of this year and even into 2011.

Son advised businesses to consider signing further low-cost contracts with foreign partners as the industry would not be able to produce low-quality products in the long-term.

To reach the export target of $19 billion by 2015 and $25 billion by 2020, the garment sector should actively implement programmes relating to cotton cultivation to increase domestic supplies, while developing their human resources to meet increasing demand, he said.— VNS

Tags: Vietnam Agricultural exports