Export of agro-products is down by over 14% compared to last year

Export is estimated at $11.19 billion, down 14.4% over the same period

On March 30, MARD held a briefing meeting for the first quarter of 2023. At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet, Director of the Planning Department, said that the biggest issue of the agricultural industry in 2023 is the market, which can be clearly seen in the first quarter.

According to a report by the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics, total export and import turnover of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products in the first 3 months was estimated at $20.63 billion, down 11.2% over the same period last year.

In particular, export turnover was estimated at $11.19 billion, down 14.4% over the same period last year. Import turnover was estimated at $9.44 billion, down 7.2%; trade surplus reached $1.76 billion, down 39.6%. To give an overview, over these first 3 months, many main export products have a decrease in export value compared to the same period last year. 

The export of agro-products reached $5.73 billion, up 3.8%. Forest products reached $3.11 billion, down 28.3%. Seafood reached $1.79 billion, down 29.0%; livestock production reached $115 million, up 46.5%. Production input reached $458 million, down 26.8% and salt reached $0.9 million, down 31.3%.

In terms of export markets, in the first three months of 2023, markets in Asia accounted for 48.8% of the market share, the Americas 20.3%, Europe 12.8%, Oceania 1.4%, and Africa 1.2%.

China is the largest export market, with export value reaching $2.4 billion (accounting for 21.5% market share). Ranked second is the United States with $2.04 billion (accounting for 18.2%); the third is Japan with an export value of $936 million (accounting for 8.4%); fourth is Korea with an export value of $528 million (accounting for 4.7%).

Regarding imports, in 3 months, many imported products also decreased compared to the same period last year. Import turnover of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products was estimated at $9.44 billion, down 7.2% over the same period in 2022.

In which, the import value of agricultural products reached $5.82 billion, down 10.3%; aquatic products reached $708 million, up 30%. Forest products reached $513 million, down 25.4%; livestock products reached $741 billion, up 1.5%; production input group reached $1.64 billion, down 3.9%.

Regarding the import market, Asia accounted for 29.3% of Vietnam's import market share, the Americas accounted for 25.5%, Oceania accounted for 7.1%, Europe accounted for 4.0% and Africa accounted for 2.9%. Brazil, Argentina, China, and the United States are the three largest suppliers of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products to Vietnam in the first three months of 2023. Market share in total import value is 9.9%, 8%, and 6.7%, respectively.

Compared to the previous month, in March 2023, besides some items with relatively stable prices (vegetables, seafood), most of the products have a slight downward trend. 

Specifically, the price of rice in most provinces decreased due to the high harvest (decreased from VND 300-400/kg depending on the type). World and domestic coffee prices fell due to increased coffee inventories, and major producers preparing for a new harvest (decreasing by approximately VND 100/kg).

Tea prices continue to trend down due to the low purchasing power of the market and increased harvest. Pepper price decreased slightly due to abundant supply (decreased from VND 10,000 - 80,000/kg depending on the type).

Hog prices across the country decreased due to abundant supply while consumption was slow (decreased from VND 1,000 - 3,000/kg depending on the region). Chicken prices decreased due to reduced purchasing power, and consumption of chicken meat in industrial zones and collective kitchens reduce (down from VND 1,000 to VND 4,000/kg depending on the area).

In the first 3 months of 2023, fertilizer prices fluctuate in a downtrend due to increased supply and a decrease in world fertilizer prices (down from VND1,600 - VND2,600/kg depending on the type). Prices of most main domestic animal feed ingredients tend to increase in January but decreased in February 2023 and are currently on a stable trend.

Rice's price increases during the favorable season

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Viet, in the first quarter of 2023, the agricultural sector has a relatively high growth rate of 2.5% thanks to great efforts from the cultivation, husbandry, and aquaculture industries.

Regarding the cultivation industry, in March, localities focused on planting, tending, and harvesting rice and winter-spring crops. Generally, in the first 3 months of the year, crop production remained stable, and the output of many key perennial crops increased. Crop production value increased by approximately 1.21% over the same period in 2022, accounting for a 59.5% proportion of the production value of the general agricultural sector. 

"Rice price increases during the favorable season. Although the cultivated area has decreased, the output still increases. Accumulated to the middle of March, the whole country cultivated more than 3.2 million ha of rice, down 1.2% in terms of cultivation area over the same period last year. More than 1.3 million ha has been harvested, reaching an increase of 5.9% in output with an average yield of 6.71 tons/ha, up 0.11 tons/ha. The output of rice in this quarter was approximately 9.1 million tons, up 7.6%”," said the Director of the Planning Department.

In the livestock industry, in the first 3 months of the year, diseases in livestock and poultry were well controlled. However, pig production faced difficulties because the selling price of live meat remained low while the price of raw materials for animal feed processing increased.

Poultry production across the country experience stable development during this period. The production value in the first quarter increased by approximately 4.69%, accounting for 35.2% of the production value of the general agricultural sector. The output of live meat of all kinds reached over 1.9 million tons, up 6.0% over the same period last year.

Explaining the decrease in live hog prices in previous periods, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet said that there were many reasons, including the problem coming from the market as the supply was larger than the demand. 

Regarding the seafood industry, production in the first quarter of 2023 experienced many fluctuations in the context of a sharp drop in export markets at the beginning of the year. Local authorities encourage farmers to raise high-quality shrimp and invest in technology and production; expanding the production and consumption chain of pangasius and brackish water shrimp.

Fishing activities are maintained stably due to favorable weather. The growth of the fisheries sector in the first quarter was approximately 2.68% over the same period last year. Total seafood output in March was estimated at more than 703,000 tons, up 1.5% over the same period in 2022. In the first 3 months of the year, the total fishery output is estimated at nearly 1.9 million tons, up 1.4% over the same period last year.