Accelerating agricultural exports at the end of the year

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first 10 months of 2024, agricultural, forestry and fishery exports reached 51.74 billion USD, an increase of 20.2% over the same period in 2023. The last two months of 2024 will be a time of drastic acceleration for industries with the latest goal of bringing export turnover to a record of about 60 billion USD.

Peeling frozen durian segments for export in Krong Pac district, Dak Lak province. (Photo: CONG LY)

Data for the first 10 months of 2024 shows that the trade surplus value agriculture, forestry, fishery reached 15.21 billion USD, up 62.2% over the same period last year. Six items had a trade surplus of more than 1 billion USD, including: wood and wood products with a surplus of 10.91 billion USD; fruit and vegetables with a surplus of 4.47 billion USD; coffee with a surplus of 4.33 billion USD; rice with a surplus of 3.68 billion USD; shrimp with a surplus of 2.92 billion USD and tra fish with a surplus of 1.54 billion USD.

Growth in most industries

Secretary General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen said: "With this result and favorable export conditions at the end of the year due to high demand in many markets, fruit and vegetable export turnover may exceed all recent forecasts, most likely reaching a record of more than 7 billion USD."

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the country's seafood exports in October 2024 are estimated to reach more than 1 billion USD, an increase of 28% over the same period in 2023. This is the first time in more than 2 years (since June 2022) that seafood exports have returned to the 1 billion USD/month mark. Of which, shrimp and pangasius are two items with strong growth.

By the end of October 2024, shrimp exports reached more than 3.2 billion USD, up 13%, while pangasius exports reached nearly 1.7 billion USD, up 10%. An advantage for the Vietnamese shrimp industry is that last October, the US Department of Commerce announced preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) on shrimp imported from Ecuador, India and Vietnam, of which the tax rate for Vietnamese shrimp was 2.84%, significantly lower than 4.36% for India and 7.55% for Ecuador. This is an important competitive advantage for Vietnamese shrimp in the US market.

Data for the first 10 months of 2024 showed that the trade surplus of agriculture, forestry and fishery products reached 15.21 billion USD, an increase of 62.2% over the same period last year. Six items had a trade surplus of more than 1 billion USD, including: wood and wood products with a surplus of 10.91 billion USD; fruit and vegetables with a surplus of 4.47 billion USD; coffee with a surplus of 4.33 billion USD; rice with a surplus of 3.68 billion USD; shrimp with a surplus of 2.92 billion USD and pangasius with a surplus of 1.54 billion USD.

VASEP Communications Director Le Hang said: Thanks to increased demand from key markets, Vietnam's seafood exports recorded impressive growth in October 2024. In particular, exports to China and Hong Kong exploded with an increase of 37%; exports to the US increased by 31%, Japan increased by 22%, the EU increased by 27%, and South Korea increased by 13%.

In addition to the two strongly growing commodities of vegetables and seafood, coffee is also one of the commodities that has seen strong growth over the past 10 months. According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), in the first 10 months of 2024, Vietnam exported 1.157 million tons of coffee worth nearly 4.6 billion USD, down 10.8% in volume but up 40.1% in value compared to the same period last year.

It is forecasted that Vietnam's coffee export output will recover in the last months of the year as Vietnam has entered the new harvest season of 2024-2025 and demand at the end of the year is high. Coffee export turnover to most continents increased and all coffee varieties also recorded double-digit increases compared to the same period in 2023. In addition to key markets such as the EU, the US, and Japan, China is also increasing its imports of Vietnamese coffee.

Processing apricots for export to the Japanese market at MISAKI Company, Thanh Binh Industrial Park, Bac Kan province. (Photo by HUONG LAN)

Focus on profitable markets

Over the past 10 months, Asia has been the largest export market for Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products with a market share of 48.2%. The next two largest markets are the Americas and Europe with market shares of 23.5% and 11.5%, respectively. Compared to the same period last year, the estimated export value of Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products to Asia increased by 17.2%; the Americas increased by 24.7%; Europe increased by 34.1%; Africa increased by 2% and Oceania increased by 14.5%.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, China remains a key market for Vietnam's agricultural exports in the last months of the year for many key products. For the fruit and vegetable industry, after the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements and food safety for frozen durian exported from Vietnam to China and the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for fresh coconut exported from Vietnam to China were signed, this is the time for businesses to take advantage.

The Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that in early November, implementing the National Trade Promotion Program in 2024, the Agency organized a delegation of Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE 2024). Next to the national pavilion is the commercial pavilion of Vietnamese enterprises with a total exhibition area of ^600m2. of 50 enterprises specializing in food and processed agricultural products with many units having good export capacity and prestigious, quality brands such as: TH True Milk, Trung Nguyen Coffee, Vietnam Pepper Joint Stock Company, Ben Tre Import-Export Joint Stock Company... This is an opportunity for enterprises to increase official and sustainable exports to the Chinese market.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, in addition to traditional markets, since the beginning of 2024, the agricultural sector has emphasized exploiting new potential markets, including the Halal food market for Muslims. Most recently, the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed, opening up opportunities to increase exports and increase the value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market. Specifically, Vietnam is one of the three largest tuna suppliers to the UAE market with export value increasing from 1.6 million USD in 2019 to nearly 4 million USD in 2023, an increase of 139% in 5 years. Vietnam is also the largest supplier of pangasius in the UAE, accounting for 40-50% of the market share. In addition, the UAE is also one of the three largest pepper import markets of Vietnam.

In addition, to attract agricultural, forestry and fishery import partners from many countries, from November 13-16, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will organize the Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition 2024 - Vietnam Foodexpo 2024, including more than 500 booths of nearly 400 enterprises from more than 30 provinces and cities of Vietnam and nearly 20 countries/territories.

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