Việt Nam's main forest products this year reached $16.93 billion, up 6.1 per cent on year. Photo VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The agriculture sector in 2022 posted a new record in the agro-forestry-fishery export value, hitting more than US$53.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 per cent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The ministry reported on December 27 that the sector enjoyed a trade surplus of $8.5 billion, 30 per cent higher than that of 2021.  

Specifically, the export value of main agricultural products reached $22.59 billion, up 4.8 per cent; main forest products reached $16.93 billion, up 6.1 per cent; and aquatic products hit $10.92 billion, up 22.9 per cent.

The agricultural sector had 11 groups of products recording an export turnover of over $1 billion, including seven groups of products gaining over $3 billion. They involved wood and wooden products with $10.92 billion, shrimp $4.33 billion, coffee $3.94 billion, rice $3.49 billion, rubber $3.31 billion, fruit and vegetables $3.34 billion, and cashew nuts $3.07 billion.

During the year, the sector has focused on removing trade barriers, thus helping set the new export records, the ministry said.

A series of projects have been implemented to promote exports, and speed up the application of IT in collecting information and carrying out market forecasts.

MARD has kept a close watch on price fluctuations and the balance of supply and demand in the market while proposing solutions to remove difficulties for the consumption of agricultural products.

It has also coordinated with embassies, and trade and agriculture counsellors to set up channels for providing information related to export markets. 

It has also strengthened online trade promotion activities to expand exports to big markets such as China, the US, the European Union, Russia and Brazil, and effectively exploited potential markets including Japan, the Republic of Korea, ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

The ministry has closely coordinated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to negotiate on opening the export market for local farm produce and to promptly solve problems to promote agricultural, forestry and fishery exports.

At the same time, it has had measures to solve obstacles from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict affecting the global supply chain of agricultural products. It has actively taken advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) to promote agricultural product exports.

Record in seafood exports

The fishery industry this year also gained a record export value of about $11 billion, up 23.8 per cent over the same period in 2021 and 22.2 per cent higher than the yearly plan at $9 billion. 

Of which, the export value surged by 70 per cent on year to $2.35 billion for tra fish (pangasius) and 13 per cent to $4.1-4.2 billion for brackish water shrimp.

Besides that, the deputy director of the Directorate of Fisheries Nguyễn Thị Thu Nguyệt said that the industry has carried out well fleet management and has updated fishing vessel data to the National Fisheries Database System (VNFishbase). That is one of the tasks to remove the yellow card warning on IUU from the EU.

For the seafood market in 2023, Lê Hằng, Communications Director of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that next year, the market advantages that have in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 will no longer be because inflation is forecasted to create great effects on the consumer sectors in the world market, reducing the exports in the first quarter of 2023.

At present, export orders have fallen sharply, many seafood processing enterprises do not receive contracts for the first quarter of next year. They hope that market demand will recover from the second quarter or at least the second half of the year when many countries in the world have gradually economic recovery, Hằng said. The enterprises need to prepare all resources, creating favourable conditions for resuming production and export.

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Phùng Đức Tiến said that Việt Nam's seafood industry is the third largest seafood exporter with an export value of $11 billion this year. It has been the highest export value in the past many years. 

Next year, the fishery sector will achieve the target of a total aquaculture area of 1.3 million hectares; total seafood production of 8.74 million tonnes, and an export value of about $10 billion. Exports are expected to reach $14 billion by 2030. 

To achieve the goals, Tiến said the fishery industry must develop deep processing, use materials that can be traced and promote flexible trade promotion activities for potential markets.