In the first half of this year, Vietnam's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products totaled nearly 24.6 billion USD, down more than 11% against last year. Difficulties are forecast to remain in the second half. In that context, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities have called for accelerating the export of key commodities to fulfill the target of earning 55 billion USD from the export of agro-forestry and fishery products this year.

Director of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Viet said that although the total export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products decreased in the first half of this year, 7 products and groups of products earned more than 1 billion USD each. They were coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, cashew nuts, shrimp, and timber products. The export of fruits and vegetables totaled 2.75 billion USD, up more than 64% over the same period last year and equal to 82% of the whole of last year.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that the agricultural sector is determined to take advantage of opportunities and concentrate resources to achieve a target growth of 3-3.5% and export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products of 55 billion USD. Mr. Tien advised focusing on key export items to compensate for products which are likely to fail to reach their targets.

Special attention should be paid to ensuring sufficient supply and quality. Localities need to closely monitor storms, floods, and other natural disasters, as well as water resources and saltwater intrusion, effectively manage cultivation areas, geographical indications, and product traceability, and protect trademarks.

The agricultural sector and localities have updated market information and standards for the rice value chain to align with the international market and support the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice. Under Vietnam's rice export market development strategy until 2030, Vietnam has promoted linkages in high-quality rice production and restructured rice crops and varieties to diversify exports.

Source: VOV