VIETNAM POSTS US$30.69 BILLION IN AGRO-FORESTRY-FISHERY EXPORTS IN JAN-MAY

Harvesting rice in the Mekong Delta - PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

HCMC – Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery exports reached an estimated US$30.69 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 9.2% from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Imports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products rose 12.6% year-on-year to US$22.28 billion, leaving the sector with a trade surplus of US$8.41 billion, up 1.1%.

Agricultural products remained the largest export category, generating US$16.38 billion, up 6.1%. Forestry exports reached US$7.65 billion, rising 4.5%, while fishery exports climbed 10.6% to US$4.65 billion.

Several smaller categories posted strong growth. Livestock exports surged 43.2% to US$308 million, agricultural input materials rose 83% to US$1.7 billion, and salt exports increased 45.8% to US$6.7 million.

China remained Vietnam’s largest export market for agro-forestry-fishery products, accounting for 20.5% of total export value, with shipments to the country jumping 28.4%. The United States ranked second with an 18.5% share, though exports there fell 3.6%. Exports to the European Union rose 4.2%, accounting for 11.8% of total shipments, while exports to Japan increased 3.5% and represented 6.8% of the total.

The ministry attributed the export growth to stable domestic production during the first five months of the year.

Winter-spring rice cultivation area expanded 0.3% year-on-year to 2.98 million hectares, with output estimated at 13.96 million tons. Summer-autumn rice planting also rose 3% to 1.29 million hectares.

Total fishery output reached an estimated 3.9 million tons, up 3.1%, driven mainly by aquaculture production, which increased 5% to 2.3 million tons.

Source: The Saigon Times