Most agricultural products saw an increase in export volumes in recent months but total revenues suffered losses due to falling prices resulting from to the current global financial crisis, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). 

Agricultural exports reached 4.34 billion USD, equivalent in value to the same period last year, while forestry products dropped 19 percent, reaching just over 1.2 billion USD. 

Seafood product exports suffered the same fate during the period, with turnover hitting only 1.7 billion USD, down 11 percent from the same period last year. 

Some products, including coffee and tea, were up in volume but down in value. Other agricultural products such as rubber, pepper and cashew nuts saw a strong decrease in value but not much of a drop in volume. 

Rice recorded the highest and steadiest growth with an export turnover of 3.8 million tonnes, fetching 1.8 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 57 percent in volume and nearly 25 percent in value. 

The Philippines remains the largest importer of Vietnamese rice, reaching 752 million USD. 

According to the General Statistics Office’s figure, agricultural and seafood production value reached nearly 97,000 billion VND in the first six months of this year, increasing by nearly 2.5 percent over the same period last year, the lowest rate in the past decade. 

The MARD said the production situation in the first half of this year was stronger than it might have been otherwise thanks to the government’s demand-stimulation policy and higher investment.

(Source: VNA)