HCMC – Agricultural, forestry, and aquatic exports rebounded in October, with a value of US$4.81 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The figure shows an 11.9% increase from the same period in 2022. Agricultural exports played a significant role this growth, surging by 31% to US$2.47 billion, while livestock exports increased by 6% to US$40 million. The forestry sector experienced a marginal 0.2% decrease to US$1.28 billion, while aquatic exports recorded an almost 6% drop to US$850 million. Cumulative data for January to October 2023 showed that agricultural, forestry, and aquatic exports had witnessed a 4.2% year-on-year decrease, to US$43.08 billion. This decline may be attributed to a steep fall in forestry and aquatic exports, whose export value had dropped 19.3% to US$11.65 billion and 20.5% to US$7.45 billion, respectively. Falling prices of certain agricultural products, such as rubber (down 17.3%), black pepper (down 23.4%), and cassava products (down 3.3%), also contributed to the overall decrease. Despite the challenging export environment, the agricultural sector emerged as a bright spot, achieving exports worth US$21.94 billion, up 17% over the same period last year. Key contributors to this growth included soaring vegetable and fruit exports, which surged by 78.9% to US$4.91 billion, rice exports, which increased by 34.9% to US$3.97 billion, and cashew exports, rising by 14.8% to US$2.92 billion. Livestock product exports also saw a significant increase of 22% to US$402 million. China continued to be Vietnam's top trade partner, with exports accounting for 22.8% of Vietnam's total exports in 2022, a 16.2% year-on-year increase. However, exports to the U.S. and Japan experienced declines of 20.8% and 8.5%, respectively, constituting 20.6% and 7.5% of Vietnam's total exports.