Agriculture, forestry & fisheries see Q1 trade surplus of $2bn

Exports up 8.4% to $6.89 billion in first quarter.

Photo: Duc Thanh

Export turnover of agriculture, forestry and fisheries products in the first quarter of 2018 has been estimated at $6.89 billion, an 8.4 per cent increase year-on-year, and Vietnam recorded a surplus of $2 billion in the sector, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The export value of major farm produce hit $4.6 billion, a year-on-year rise of 9 per cent.

Revenue from forestry and fisheries products reached $2 billion and $1.7 billion; respective increases of 6.6 per cent and 11.5 per cent.

Vietnam exported about 1.36 million tons of rice in March worth $669 million, up 9.4 per cent in volume and 24 per cent in value over March 2017. The rice export price averaged $491 per ton in the first quarter, up 15.3 per cent year-on-year.

The country also earned $1 billion from selling 520,000 tons of coffee in the first quarter, an increase of 15.1 per cent in volume and a decline of 1.7 per cent in value compared to the same quarter of 2017.

Rubber exports saw the sharpest rise, with volumes up 8.9 per cent to 272,000 tons, while value fell 20.9 per cent to $403 million, as the export price was down 27.3 per cent year-on-year.

Cashew nut exports stood at 73,000 tons, bringing in $739 million, up 30.9 per cent in volume and 43.6 per cent in value. Fruit and vegetable exports were estimated at $934 million, a rise of nearly 33 per cent year-on-year. Despite a hike of 5.5 per cent in volume to 54,000 tons, pepper export value fell nearly 37.3 per cent to just $203 million in the first quarter.