Rice and durian set records in price and turnover
The latest update from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) shows that the export price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam has increased twice in a row this week, reaching a historical high of 508 USD/ton on June 23. Notably, this price is 5 USD higher than that of the same grade of rice from Thailand, 30 USD higher than that of Pakistan, and 50 USD higher than that of India. Compared to the beginning of the year, the price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam has increased by more than 30 USD/ton. Rice prices have been continuously increasing since the beginning of the year, due to scarce supply and high demand from importing countries.
With the ongoing El Nino weather phenomenon, exporters believe that Vietnam's rice prices will continue to remain high and exports will be favorable. By the end of May, Vietnam had exported nearly 3.9 million tons of rice, reaching a turnover of over 2 billion USD, up 41% in volume and 52% in value compared to the same period last year. Although there are many concerns that the export output will fall short of the target of 7 million tons, with the current good prices, many people still believe that rice exports will set new records in output and value thanks to the advantage of using short-term, high-yield rice varieties.
Seafood exports are gradually recovering
More impressive than rice is the export of fruits and vegetables, especially durian. In the first year of export and after only 5 months, this item has reached a value of 503 million USD. Notably, in May alone, the export turnover of durian reached 332 million USD. The breakthrough growth of durian has raised the export value of fruits and vegetables in May to 656 million USD, an increase of 67.7% compared to the previous month.
In the first 5 months of 2023, the export value of fruits and vegetables reached more than 2 billion USD - this is the highest export value in 5 months ever and increased by 43% over the same period last year. Surprise after surprise, in just the first 3 weeks of June, fruit and vegetable exports reached 723 million USD, higher than the whole month of May. Cumulative fruit and vegetable exports from the beginning of the year to date have reached 2.74 billion USD. It is estimated that by the end of June, fruit and vegetable exports could reach 3 billion USD, equivalent to the export value of the whole year of 2022 (nearly 3.2 billion USD). With the current growth momentum, it is expected that fruit and vegetable exports in 2023 could reach a historic milestone of over 5 billion USD.
Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi, Deputy Head of the Southern Branch of the Vietnam Gardening Association, said: In just 5 months, durian exports have reached over 500 million USD, which is a big surprise, and not all products can do it in the first year of export. With the current growth rate, it is estimated that durian exports will exceed 1 billion USD this year.
"Recently, our association organized a delegation for people to go to Thailand to learn from experience and will soon coordinate with Dong Nai province to organize a workshop on opportunities and challenges for durian. The problem is that the market for this product is very large, but it also faces many challenges such as the fact that we are behind Thailand and there are many things related to quality and harvesting processes that need to be improved. In addition, in the near future, Laos and Cambodia will also have durian and will be exported to China, the challenge for the durian industry is very big. Therefore, we think that we need to continue to improve and enhance the quality of durian in order to exploit it more sustainably and move towards increasing the export turnover of durian to 1.5 - 2 billion USD", Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi shared.
In addition, in the agricultural product group, Vietnam's coffee exports in the first 5 months of the year are estimated at 882,000 tons, worth more than 2 billion USD, although decreasing in volume, but increasing slightly in value compared to the same period last year. In particular, in May, the average export price of Vietnam's coffee is estimated at 2,399 USD/ton, up 5.3% compared to the same period last year.
Record high rice export prices, favorable for rice growers
Aquaculture flourishes, textiles maintain orders
Compared to the same period last year, seafood exports still decreased sharply; the cumulative value in the first 5 months of this year only reached 3.4 billion USD, down 28% compared to the same period last year. However, in May, the industry's total export value reached 808 million USD, the highest figure calculated by month since the beginning of the year. Notably, the decline in key products has gradually decreased compared to the same period last year. This shows that signs of recovery are returning to the industry. Notably, when many key export products such as shrimp, tra fish, and tuna are facing difficulties, businesses have boosted the export of dried fish, canned fish as well as promoted exports to new, potential markets.
Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), commented: Although the US and EU markets are affected, some markets such as Japan, Korea, and Australia still have stable demand, especially for value-added products from Vietnam. With the current economic and political fluctuations, it is difficult to make solid forecasts for the period 2023 - 2024. As an essential commodity, seafood still has a certain demand in all markets. However, businesses need to note that in the post-Covid-19 context and high inflation, there have been many changes in the demand trends for seafood products. High-priced seafood products have and will continue to have reduced demand in the short term. Affordable products such as dried fish, canned fish, pangasius, and fish cakes may still have better opportunities in many markets.
Also in a state of holding out, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Bich, Chairman of the Trade Union of Top Royal Flash VN Company, specializing in garment manufacturing for export, said: Currently, the company has enough orders to produce until the end of 2023 at normal capacity as before. If customers are lost, we will find new customers. To sign new contracts and have enough orders to operate, the company is forced to reduce unit prices. "We have determined that we must find every way to survive, retaining customers is important, but more importantly, retaining workers to wait for recovery opportunities. In the past, we did not cut staff, and even accepted unemployed workers from other businesses for training and vocational training. In addition to maintaining the regime for workers with an average salary of 6 - 10 million VND/month, we still maintain welfare for workers such as supporting accommodation of 200,000 VND/month, and gasoline of 50,000 VND/month," said Ms. Bich.
May exports begin to increase again
According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's total import-export turnover as of June 15 reached about 288 billion USD, down 15% over the same period in 2022; of which exports reached 149 billion USD, down 12% and imports reached 139 billion USD, down 18.4%. The trade balance still maintained a trade surplus of 9.8 billion USD.
In May alone, Vietnam's total import-export turnover was estimated at 55.9 billion USD, up 5.3% over the previous month, equivalent to an increase of 2.8 billion USD. Of which, exports were estimated at 29 billion USD, up 4.3%, and imports were estimated at 28 billion USD, up 6.4%.
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