Agricultural exports could reach 60 billion USD

Speaking to the press, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that agricultural exports this year could reach a record of 60-61 billion USD. He also affirmed that people can rest assured that livestock farming is still growing well, so the market will provide enough meat for Tet.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2024 could reach 60 - 61 billion USD.

  No worries about meat shortage during Tet, agricultural exports set a record again

In the context of severe natural disasters, especially storm No. 3 YAGI which left severe consequences for the agricultural sector, many indicators of the sector are still very positive. How does the Deputy Minister assess the growth rate of the sector in recent times?

- In the first 9 months of 2024, the agricultural sector had many advantages, but also faced many difficulties. In particular, storm No. 3 and floods caused the agricultural sector to lose over 30,800 billion VND. Of which, livestock and aquaculture were the two sectors that suffered the most damage. "Therefore, many people asked the question: will there be enough meat for Tet, do we have to wrap banh chung with carp or go on TV to buy cheap meat?" - he raised the issue.

However, I affirm that by the end of September this year, meat output had reached 6.13 million tons of meat, an increase of 4.8% over the same period last year. If feed prices decrease, people will quickly restore their herds, and the growth rate will be maintained. We can rest assured that there will be no shortage of meat for Tet.

Regarding aquatic products, both aquaculture and exploitation have increased, with output reaching 7.02 million tons. The export turnover of this key product group by the end of September 2024 reached 7.23 billion USD, with September alone reaching more than 900 million USD. It is likely that this year's aquatic product export will complete the target of 10 billion USD as set.

Recently, provinces and cities that suffered heavy damage after storm No. 3 such as Hai Phong and Quang Ninh have been directly provided with materials, breeds, feed, etc. by the Department of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) to support production recovery. With 170,000 hectares of forest broken down, wood is being collected and stored to make pellets to sell at better prices. At the same time, localities are also preparing seeds to plant new forests at the beginning of the year.

Northern provinces suffered losses of about 300,000-400,000 tons of rice. However, in the past 9 months, the country's total rice output still reached 34.01 million tons, up 1.5% over the same period last year.

October will certainly be affected, however, if we subtract the 300,000-400,000 tons of rice damaged recently from the total output of 43.3 million tons, we still ensure 40 million tons, enough to supply the domestic market and export. Notably, rice exports in the past 9 months have reached 7 million tons, earning 4.37 billion USD.

As for vegetables, I think it is not a concern, because this is a short-term crop that is harvested very quickly. When the storms occurred, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assessed that the northern mountainous provinces were basically self-sufficient, so exports would not be greatly affected.

Agricultural, forestry and fishery exports were the bright spot of the sector in the first 9 months of 2024. Accordingly, the total export turnover of the agricultural sector in the first 9 months of 2024 reached 46.28 billion USD, an increase of 21% over the same period last year, with September alone reaching 5.85 billion USD. Notably, the trade surplus of the entire agricultural sector jumped to 13.9 billion USD, accounting for 66.8% of the total surplus of the whole economy.

At the current growth rate, agricultural exports this year could reach 60-61 billion USD, or even more. We must be proud of being farmers.

Processing frozen durian for export at Tay Nguyen Durian Joint Stock Company (Sarita). Photo: AT

The total export turnover of the agricultural sector in the first 9 months of 2024 reached 46.28 billion USD, an increase of 21% over the same period last year, with September alone reaching 5.85 billion USD.

Durian firmly "reigns"

One of the bright spots in the picture of agricultural, forestry and fishery exports is durian. How does the Deputy Minister assess the potential of this product, especially when Vietnam and China have just signed a Protocol on the export of frozen durian?

For many years, China has been the world's largest consumer of durian. In 2023, the country spent nearly $7 billion to buy large quantities of durian from Southeast Asian countries, mainly Thailand and Vietnam. In China, people love durian so much that they eat it from the flesh to the shell.

In fact, since mid-2022, when durian officially had a "passport" in the Chinese market, the export turnover of this fruit has continuously set historical records. Specifically, if in 2021, durian exports earned only 178 million USD, then it quickly increased to 421 million USD in 2022. By 2023, durian export turnover set a record of 2.24 billion USD.

This year, after only 9 months, according to statistics from the General Department of Customs, durian exports have reached 2.66 billion USD, a sharp increase of 63.7%, equivalent to an increase of 1.04 billion USD compared to the same period last year. Notably, 95% of our country's durian exports are to the Chinese market, other markets account for a rather modest proportion.

Recently, Vietnam continued to sign a protocol with China to officially export frozen durian to this market. Enterprises expect that the first batches of frozen durian from Vietnam will be exported to China in November this year.

By the end of September this year, the country's durian output had reached nearly 985,000 tons, up nearly 17% over the same period last year. The annual output is expected to reach 1.2 million tons. There are still many growing areas for harvest in the last months of the year. We believe that at this rate, by the end of October, durian export turnover could reach 3 billion USD.

Thank you, Deputy Minister, for this information!

Source: https://danviet.vn/thu-truong-bo-nnptnt-tu-hao-noi-ve-ky-luc-moi-sap-duoc-thiet-lap-xuat-khau-nong-san-co-the-dat-60-ty-usd-20241027185002028.htm