Agricultural exports tipped to rise this year

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has forecast upbeat exports of several of the country’s key agricultural products in 2011, following last year’s bumper crop.

In a report released this week, the ministry predicted that with a coffee cultivation area of 548,200ha in the 2010-11 crop, up 1.8 per cent over last year’s crop, the coffee industry would gain a yield of more than 1.1 million tonnes this year, up 4.6 per cent against last year.

This year’s coffee exports could reach more than 1.28 million tonnes worth roughly US$2 billion against the $1.76 billion of last year, the ministry said.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Cacao and Coffee Association Luong Van Tu was also optimistic about this year’s coffee export. He said domestic coffee exporters had so far signed contracts to deliver coffee until May at a price of $2,070-2,080 per tonne, a 48 per cent increase compared with December last year.

“If world coffee prices for the rest of the year remain high at more than $2,000 per tonne as they are currently, the industry can fetch $2 billion from exports this year,” Tu said.

As for rubber, the ministry expected the industry this year would reach nearly $3 billion by exporting 760,000 tonnes of latex. Last year, the rubber industry earned nearly $2.4 billion from exports.

The ministry said the increase was due to a yield surge after rubber cultivation area was expanded. According to the General Statistics Office, the country’s rubber yield this year would rise 4 per cent against last year to 780,000 tonnes thanks to a 5,000ha increase of cultivation area.

The price of rubber, which is forecast to remain high this year, was also considered an advantage that would help the industry meet its target.

“The rubber price is forecast to remain high at roughly $5,000 per tonne in the first quarter this year as the supply is restricted, while demand remains high,” said Deputy Chairman of the Viet Nam Rubber Association Le Quang Thung.

Thung said the rubber price had been higher than in recent years because many manufacturers had produced less, while the demand for rubber latex remained high, especially for the auto tire production sector in China, India, Japan and South Korea.

This year’s yield of pepper was also forecast to be higher than last year’s. The ministry estimated the country would yield roughly 100,000 tonnes of pepper, up 5.3 per cent over last year.

But with pepper still in stock from last year, the ministry expected to export roughly 115,000 tonnes this year, equivalent to last year’s export volume.

As for price, the Viet Nam Pepper Association said the world price would increase thanks to a restriction on supply. According to the International Pepper Community, this year’s world pepper export will be roughly 229,700 tonnes, down 3.3 per cent against last year, due to a 2 per cent decrease in yield.

However, export of rice – one of the staples listed in the country’s 1 billion export club – is forecast to decrease roughly 10-15 per cent against last year to 5.5-6.1 million tonnes.

The agricultural sector this year is set to achieve $19 billion in the export value, equal to 2010′s figure. The ministry forecast a rising demand for agricultural products from big markets such as the US, the EU and Japan, and from several new markets in the Middle East and South Africa.

Minister Cao Duc Phat said to accomplish the targets, the agricultural sector would invest more in scientific research to create closer relationships between scientists and farmers, and promote more effective land planning. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam Agricultural exports