Vietnam fishery, forestry and agricultural sector records $6.7 bln trade surplus in 8 months

Vietnam’s fishery, forestry and agricultural sector earned over $33 billion in Jan-Aug exports to post a trade surplus of $6.7 billion, up 6.4% year-on-year.

The figure of August alone was nearly $4.4 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of the eight-month total, export of agricultural products reached nearly $17 billion, up 11.5% year-on-year; and that of livestock products reached $325 million, up 26%,

The export value of fishery and forestry products including wooden furniture decreased by more than 25% year-on-year, while fruit and vegetables export rose nearly 58% to $3.4 billion, an all-time high.

Analysts have said that durian can be a billion-dollar commodity for Vietnam when both businesses and farmers master market requirements.

While there is great growth potential for fruit and vegetable exports, recent warnings from importing countries are a concern. The warnings received in the export of bananas, mangoes, dragon fruits and durians will make export gains unsustainable, analysts have warned.

Concerned authorities have begun stepped up monitoring of planting area codes and packaging facilities as the Central Highlands region enters the durian harvest season.

Since Vietnam is the only country that harvests the fruit in September, trade has heated up in the Central Highlands, where Dak Lak province cultivates durian on more than 22,000 hectares. The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is the largest grower of durian in the country.

Drawn by high market prices, traders are visiting farmers to offer advance deposits for the fruits, which is a good sign, but it also raises concerns about code management.

Nearly 7,000 codes for growing areas and nearly 1,600 codes for agricultural product packaging establishments have been granted, which is a modest proportion compared to the actual area and output of agricultural products. But strict enforcement of the code system is needed to ensure compliance and fruit quality.

The Plant Protection Department has said it will continue to improve the software to build a database connected with the codes of growing areas and packaging facilities in localities through the sansangxuatkhau.ppd.gov.vn website.

Transparency of information about codes will help limit fraud, it has explained.