The information was given by Mr. Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development at a press conference held by this Ministry on the morning of July 3, in Hanoi.

The export picture is bright and dark

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , thanks to proactively removing obstacles to increase exports under difficult conditions of new orders (especially seafood and forest products) and market barriers, the total turnover agro-forestry-fishery exports in the first 6 months of 2023 reached 24.59 billion USD, down 11.1% over the same period in 2022.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien chaired the regular press conference for the first 6 months of 2023

In which, the main group of agricultural products is 12.79 billion USD, up 12%; livestock products USD 232 million, up 26.5%; seafood 4.13 billion USD, down 27.4%; main forest products $ 6.5 billion, down 28.2%; production input 940 million USD, down 28.9%; salt $ 2.4 million, down 14.2%.

Contributing to that result are 7 products and groups with export value of over 1 billion USD, including: Coffee, rubber, rice, vegetables, cashew nuts, shrimp, wood products. Specifically, in the first 6 months of 2023, coffee exports will reach 2.4 billion USD; rubber reached 1.05 billion USD; rice reached 2.3 billion USD; vegetables and fruits reached 2.75 billion USD; cashew nuts reached 1.6 billion USD; shrimp reached 1.56 billion USD; wood products reached 4.07 billion USD.

In which, rice and cashew nuts are two products that increase in both volume and value. Specifically, rice exports increased by 22.2% in volume and 34.7% in export value; cashew exports increased by 10.5% in volume and 7.7% in export value; coffee alone decreased in volume (reaching 1.02 million tons, down 2.2%), but thanks to the average export price increased by 5.2%, the export value reached 2.4 billion USD, up 3% .

Talking about the bright spots of vegetables and fruits in the 6-month export picture, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong - Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - informed that Vietnam has a small area for cultivation, but the price is very low. Export value of vegetables and fruits is not inferior to other countries, agricultural products go to all countries and territories. With the trend of industrialization and service, it is possible to reduce output, however, with the focus on quality, in addition to fresh products, it is necessary to increase deep processing of products, etc. At the same time, if there is any involvement of businesses, associations and authorities, the goal of fruit and vegetable export can be reached 10 billion USD.

Besides the bright color picture, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet - Director of the Planning Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - assessed, in the first 6 months of 2023, the agricultural sector faced difficulties in both domestic and international markets. For export, the prices of some commodities fell, especially pork, while input prices did not drop at a high level, affecting the production life of farmers.

Wood and wood products are commodities with a sharp decrease in export turnover in the first half of 2023. Mr. Trieu Van Luc - Deputy Director of the Department of Forestry - Information, the export value of forest products in the first half of 2023 reached about 6. 42 billion, down 28%. The trade surplus was 5.32 billion USD, equaling 70% over the same period last year.

The reason is that the export of wood and wood products to 5 major markets, namely the United States, EU, China, Japan, and South Korea, all dropped sharply. Partly due to high inflation, EU and US consumers tightened. spending, reducing wood products; the signing and opening of new orders are not further developed. The price of chips and pellets fell sharply, the cost of raw materials and input production materials increased due to the impact of conflicts. In addition, the immediate impact of the investigation of anti-tax evasion, anti-dumping plywood, kitchen cabinets, dressing tables. In addition, businesses are facing difficulties in terms of mechanisms and policies, social insurance costs, value added tax refund .

It is expected that the export of the whole industry will reach 54 billion USD

Commenting on the export picture in the last 6 months of the year, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep - Director of the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Management Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - information, the market picture has not yet been released. There are clear signs of recovery, inventories of both importers and domestic enterprises are high, and demand is still low.

Besides the reduced export difficulties, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep said that export markets in general and the EU market in particular also set increasingly strict requirements.

If in the past, the EU market required chain control and traceability for an exporter to register and this business was purchased through primary processors or agents, then under the new EU law, only Except for the initial production stage, all subsequent stages from preliminary processing, processing, logistics, and general cold storage must be registered.

The EU market is the leading market for the regulations of the world export market, according to which, if previously there were regulations related to food safety, now are issues related to development. lasting. We need regulatory policies on traceability to meet market requirements.

"So, besides commercial factors, technical factors are also issues that businesses need to pay attention to to ensure that export markets will be expanded, not narrowed," he said . Information Nguyen Nhu Tiep.

The target set for the whole year of 2023, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products will reach 54-55 billion USD. To achieve this goal, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet said that it is necessary to implement solutions to affect key export products with high prospects and high ability to increase export value to offset the expected products. may not reach the target of export turnover for the whole year. Accordingly, the main agricultural products are 25 billion USD; forest products and wooden furniture 17 billion USD; seafood 10 billion USD; other items about 3 billion USD .

“ In order to achieve the same export turnover as last year, the growth in export turnover must increase by 7-8% every month. With the target of 54-55 billion USD, besides completing legal documents, market opening and trade promotion are very important. Without the market, there is no production ," said Mr. Nguyen Van Viet.

Concluding remarks at the press conference, Mr. Phung Duc Tien assessed that the export picture in the first 6 months of the year reached 24.59 billion USD, a decrease compared to the same period last year, but the analysis of the commodity industry was different. bright spots emerge. For example, vegetables and fruits reached USD 2.75 billion, up 64.2%, rice USD 2.3 billion (up 34.7%), cashew nuts USD 1.6 billion (up 7.7%), etc. .

“In terms of markets, China rose to hold the No. 1 position in the picture of agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in the first six months of the year. We look from the market picture, the industry picture to manage exports flexibly and reasonably. With the efforts of the whole industry, by the end of the year, it is possible to export agro-forestry-fishery products worth 54 billion USD, even in difficult circumstances ," said Mr. Phung Duc Tien.