Vietnam Agro-forestry, Seafood Exports Fall 6.94% to US$14B in Jan-Nov

Vietnam exported US$1.3 billion worth of agro-forestry and seafood products in Nov, brining total export revenue in the first eleven months of 2009 to US$14 billion, down 6.94% from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of the total, export of farm produce was valued at US$7.17 billion, down 7.9%; seafood, US$3.94 billion, down 6.28%; and forestry products, US$2.45 billion, down 10.8%, the ministry said.

Seafood ranked the first among biggest forex earning commodities with revenue of US$3.94 billion, followed by rice with US$2.53 billion; timber and woodworks, US$2.27 billion; and coffee, US$1.54 billion.

The ministry said that Vietnam exported 5.7 million tons of rice in the Jan-Nov period, for an averaged price of US$447/ton, down 70% from a year earlier.

The country also exported more than one million tons of coffee in the first eleven months of this year for US$1,478/ton on average, down 30% on year. Belgium is the biggest importer of Vietnamese coffee, accounting for over 13% of revenue.

Meanwhile, export of seafood decreased in almost all of products, with pangasius down 8.6%; cuttle-fish down 11.75; and tuna down 4.8%.

Tea was the nation’s only agricultural product to surge in both export volume and value during the period. The country exported 121,000 tons of tea in the first 11 months, earning US$159 million. Those figures represented a year-on-year increase of 16.2% in volume and 24.4% in value. (VietnamPlus)

Tags: Vietnam Agro-forestry, Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood exports