Agro-forestry and fishery exports earn over US$10 billion in first four months

Revenues from agro-forestry and fishery exports in the first four months of 2016 were estimated at more than US$10 billion, up 11% over the same period last year.

In April alone, the sector brought in nearly US$2.97 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported.

The January-April period saw rice shipments up by 11.8% to 2.06 million tonnes, bringing in revenues of US$916 million, up 13.8%, thanks to a 0.32% increase in the average price.

China returned as the top importer of Vietnamese rice.

Cashew also saw an increase in both export volume and revenues, up by 7.1% and 14.6% respectively.

Coffee continued to experience sharp price falls but export revenues climbed 18.2% as a result of larger shipments, which surged by 44.6%. Germany and the US were the two biggest markets for Vietnamese coffee.

Similarly, pepper and rubber posted revenue growth thanks to increases in export volumes.

Meanwhile tea and cassava suffered marked falls in both volume and value. Cassava export revenues were down nearly 23% while tea receipts dropped 12.2%.

Timber products brought in an estimated US$2.25 billion, up 4.3% over the same period last year while fishery exports rose 6.3% to reach US$1.97 billion.

The US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea were the largest importers of Vietnamese seafood, accounting for more than half of the total export value.

(Source: NDO)