Unexpected figure of 62.4 billion USD in agricultural exports

Agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2024 will reach 62.4 billion USD, far exceeding the target set for the whole year of 2024, a figure that even those working in the industry cannot help but be surprised. It shows that Vietnam possesses a "treasure" that not every country has.

Agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2024 will reach 62.4 billion USD, an increase of 18.5% compared to 2023. In particular, the trade surplus will continue to reach a new record of 18.6 billion USD, an increase of 53.1% (while Vietnam's trade balance of goods has a surplus of 23.31 billion USD).

There are 7 export items/groups of items with over 3 billion USD, namely wood and wood products 16.1 billion USD; vegetables and fruits 7.2 billion USD; rice nearly 5.8 billion USD; coffee nearly 5.5 billion USD; cashew nuts 4.3 billion USD; shrimp 3.8 billion USD; rubber 3.2 billion USD.

The figures confirm the close direction and management of the Government, the Prime Minister , the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; especially the efforts of the business community, farmers, and cooperatives in the context of increasingly volatile markets, unpredictable natural disasters, and epidemics.

Vietnamese durian is promoted in China. Photo: PV

Remember when India announced to temporarily "leave" the rice export race in July 2023 due to concerns that drought could affect food security, many countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the issue of buying rice from Vietnam, the story of Vietnamese rice appeared on the negotiating table of the leaders. Vietnam continues to affirm its position as a country with important contributions to world food security. In 2024, Vietnam's rice export figure will reach about 9 million tons for the first time, with the export turnover value likely to reach 6 billion USD.

But that number is not achieved overnight, it is the result of a sustainable production transformation process within the rice industry from production chasing output to focusing on quality with high-quality rice varieties.

Today's export figure of 9 million tons of rice shows that the rice industry has changed in the right direction, gradually repositioning Vietnamese rice on the international market as high-quality rice instead of having a long-standing reputation as low-quality rice. The price of Vietnamese rice is now the highest or second highest in the world , at times even surpassing Thai rice.

Similarly, this year, for the first time, fruit and vegetable exports set an "unprecedented" record, with over 7 billion USD, especially after the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Department of Customs of China signed the Protocol allowing the export of durian to China, the fruit product really exploded.

In the first 11 months of 2024 alone, the export turnover of fruits and vegetables exceeded the whole year of 2023 by 1 billion USD, while the export turnover of fruits and vegetables 2 years ago was only 3.4 billion USD, but now it has doubled.

Vietnamese rice is currently priced among the highest in the world. In the photo: Soc Trang farmers participating in the 1 million hectare high-quality, low-emission rice project. Photo: Huynh Xay

This reflects the whole process of development and opening the market in a persistent and flexible manner, because in order to bring a product into a certain market, the negotiation process lasts up to 3-5 years, and for products with high technical requirements, the time may be longer.

For example, with durian, as early as 2016 and 2017, the negotiation process began when we built a technical dossier and went through many steps and many stages of negotiation to get the results we have today.

That is also the result of the fruit spreading program that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development implemented 10 years ago, so that today, we are proud to be "alone in the market".

Similarly, the program of replanting old, diseased coffee trees implemented in previous years has yielded positive results, combined with the continuous increase in world coffee prices in recent years, bringing coffee trees back to their original golden age.

So, what awaits businesses and farmers in 2025 after a very successful year with many new records set?

At the online discussion: "Agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2024: New record, new position" organized by Nong Thon Ngay Nay/Dan Viet newspaper on December 19, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the Vietnam SPS Office (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - the national focal point receiving notifications of changes in regulations on food safety and animal and plant disease safety (SPS) of importing countries, said that he wished that one day he would not have to receive any notifications of changes from export markets.

According to statistics from the Vietnam SPS Office, in 2024, markets issued 1,029 food safety notifications, with the Vietnam SPS Office receiving an average of 3 notifications per day, some of which are hundreds of pages long.

That said, besides opportunities, Vietnamese agricultural products are also facing many challenges, especially when markets are increasingly establishing import control barriers. Besides regulations on food safety and pesticide residues, importers now also set regulations on the environment and sustainable development for each product.

Author of the article, journalist Pham Anh Tho. Photo: DV

"With the goal of Vietnam becoming the kitchen of the world, we have tried to increase output but cannot forget about quality. These two issues must always go hand in hand. In particular, farmers - the direct production force - need to pay special attention to this issue. If we are too absorbed in growth, we will not be careful to fall into the trap of chasing output. Hopefully, in 2025, exports will have many new things but the most important thing is to set a record for quality," said Mr. Nam.

In addition, the "overheated" development of some industries, such as durian, may have consequences in the future, because the durian area has doubled compared to the previous years, reaching an estimated 168,000 hectares by the end of 2024. If all of this area is harvested in the next few years, no one dares to confirm the market story until now.

By 2025, we should not expect too much growth in the fruit industry but should focus on improving the health of the industry; finding solutions for sustainable development, improving quality...

It is time to stop being complacent about increasing turnover by tens of percent like in recent years, without paying attention to the fact that our competitors are not standing still. They are also constantly improving their position in the market to enhance their competitiveness.

The Chinese have begun to grow dragon fruit and durian while Thailand, Malaysia and many Southeast Asian countries are making efforts to bring agricultural products similar to Vietnam to the world.

Being proud of the achievements of Vietnamese agricultural products, being prepared to accept changes in the market to adjust production accordingly, and focusing on quality is the way to continue affirming Vietnam's position and strength: Agriculture.

Source: https://danviet.vn/bat-ngo-con-so-624-ty-usd-xuat-khau-nong-san-20241219150813982.htm