Developing agricultural, forestry and fishery products based on market diversity

(Chinhphu.vn) - In the first 4 months of 2025, Vietnam's agriculture and environment sector continued to maintain its growth momentum, with the industry's total export turnover reaching 21.15 billion USD, an increase of 10.7% over the same period in 2024.

Developing marine aquaculture is expected to help the aquaculture sector increase its sustainable value in the future - Photo: VGP/Do Huong

Besides positive signals, the agricultural sector also faces many challenges such as decline in some key products, dependence on some large markets and pressure from increasingly strict international standards.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in the first four months of the year, all export groups recorded growth, of which agricultural products reached 11.6 billion USD (up 11.7%), forestry products 5.56 billion USD (up 11.2%), aquatic products 3.09 billion USD (up 13.7%), livestock products 178 million USD (up 16.8%), and production inputs 722 million USD (up 20%). Six items achieved export value of over 1 billion USD, with coffee (3.78 billion USD, up 51.1%) and wood (5.2 billion USD, up 5.8%) leading. However, rice and vegetable exports decreased by 14.3% and 14.2% respectively, indicating instability in some key industries.

In terms of markets, the United States, China and Japan remained the largest markets, but exports to China fell by 1.1% and to Asia by 1.3%, reflecting a high dependence on a few markets and the risk of imbalances when demand fluctuates. In contrast, Europe (up 37.7%) and Africa (up 78.4%) emerged as potential markets, opening up huge opportunities for market diversification.

On the other hand, import turnover increased by 16.6% to reach 15.97 billion USD, causing the trade surplus to decrease by 4.1% to 5.18 billion USD. This shows that pressure from high input costs, especially in the livestock products (up 27.8%) and aquatic products (up 29%), can affect the industry's profits and competitiveness.

The agricultural and environmental sectors are facing the risk of overheating, typically in the durian sector, where the planting area exceeds the planning and the quality is not consistent. The heavy dependence on China is also a big risk, as this market decreased by 1.1% and applied stricter control measures.

According to Mr. Tran Gia Long, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is focusing on long-term strategies to promote sustainable growth and increase added value for industries. Typically, coffee, rubber and pepper recorded impressive growth in prices (coffee increased by 67.5%, pepper increased by 62.5%, rubber increased by 30.2%), showing great potential in increasing export value. The Ministry will continue to restructure the industry, applying high technology in production and processing to maintain quality and increase productivity.

To solve this problem, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment identified the need to promote market diversification, improve product quality, and build a modern logistics system to reduce costs and increase supply chain efficiency.

In addition, digital transformation and the application of science and technology are core factors to improve productivity and meet international standards. For example, building an agricultural product database and a traceability system will help increase transparency, meeting the requirements of markets such as the EU and the US. The media also plays an important role in promoting the brand of Vietnamese agricultural products, especially in new markets.

Focus on developing key agricultural products

Based on the assessment of the current market development situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment aims to diversify markets for agricultural, forestry and fishery exports. In particular, expanding the market to Europe and Africa, along with trade promotion in new markets such as the Middle East, will help reduce dependence on the Chinese market. At the same time, with rice and vegetables products declining, the Ministry is promoting the improvement of varieties, production processes, and brand building to regain growth momentum, especially in the domestic market and ASEAN countries.

In the field of seafood, shrimp exports reached 1.24 billion USD (up 28.4%), a bright spot in the seafood group. However, pressure from quality control standards (such as cadmium residue in China) requires the Ministry to strengthen digital transformation and apply technology in farming and processing to ensure food safety. The logistics development project until 2030 will help reduce transportation costs and improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese seafood in demanding markets such as the EU and Japan.

Forest products, especially wood, reached 5.2 billion USD, but increased by only 5.8%, showing a slowing growth rate. The Ministry needs to focus on sustainable development, reducing emissions in production, and strengthening international certifications on social and environmental responsibility. Expanding the market to Africa and Muslim countries (Halal market) will be a new direction to diversify output, while reducing pressure from traditional markets.

Livestock products increased by 16.8%, but the sharp increase in input imports (27.8%) shows that production costs are a major challenge. The Ministry will promote production support industries, such as domestic animal feed production, to reduce dependence on imports. At the same time, reforming administrative procedures and digital transformation in management will help businesses access support policies faster.

At the conference to review the work of the first quarter and deploy key tasks for April and the second quarter of 2025 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Minister Do Duc Duy emphasized the proactive and flexible policy response to respond to fluctuations in international and domestic markets. He requested units under the Ministry to develop specific action plans to achieve the growth target of the agricultural and environmental sector at 4.0% or higher, with an export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products reaching 65 billion USD (striving for 70 billion USD). Along with that, the Minister of Agriculture and Environment also requested to step up communication to promote the brand of Vietnamese agricultural products, especially in new markets, and at the same time deploy solutions to stabilize the domestic market in the face of weather and price fluctuations.

Do Huong

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/phat-trien-cac-nganh-hang-nong-lam-thuy-san-dua-tren-su-da-dang-thi-truong-102250506213906949.htm