Agricultural Exports Rise 3.1 Pct in First Three Months

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the export value of agricultural, forest and aquatic products was estimated at nearly US$2.54 billion in March, bringing the total export value to US$6.73 billion the first three months of the year, up 3.1 per cent over the same period of 2015.

The country saw a strong growth in many exports such as rice (629,000 tonnes worth US$274 million in March, totalling 1.59 million 3 months tonnes valued at US$692 million in three months, up 41, 6 per cent in volume and 40.8 per cent in value year on year), seafood (nearly US$1.36 billion in January-March, up 1.7 per cent on year) and coffee (182,000 tonnes worth US$300 million in March, tallying 479,000 tonnes worth US$808 million in three months, up 30.2 per cent in volume and 5.7 per cent in value on year).

Main importers of Vietnamese agricultural products are the United States, Japan, China, Germany and Indonesia.

In March, Vietnam was estimated to spend US$1.97 billion to import agricultural, forest and aquatic products, totalling US$5.31 billion in the first three months, down 3.9 per cent from a year earlier. Main imports were worth US$3.77 billion, down 9.7 per cent.

Ha Vu