Vietnam’s agricultural, forest and seafood products saw a 3.1 per cent rise in export value in the first quarter of this year to hit US$3.47 billion, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In March, the nation earned US$1.2 billion from exporting these products, the ministry said.
In the first quarter, the export value of farm products increased 11.28 per cent to US$1.97 million. The value of seafood declined 7 per cent to US$744 million and fell 22.82 per cent for forest products to US$572 million.
Among key farm produce, the country gained highest rise in rice export with 76.2 per cent to US$785 million.
The nation saw a 10.5 per cent year-on-year increase in tea export values, which hit US$29 million in the first quarter of this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Export of pepper increased 15.5 per cent to US$63 million, and export of fruit and vegetable rose 2.6 per cent to US$91 million.
Particularly, export of cassava and cassava products rose 123.5 per cent to US$181 million.
But the country had to see decreases of 4.6 per cent; 7.1 per cent; and 46.3 per cent in export of key items like cashew, coffee, and rubber, to only US$138 million; US$634 million; and US$157 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, figures from the GSO also showed that Vietnam spent US$1.213 billion on importing agricultural materials in the first quarter of 2009, with sharp decreases in almost all of products.
Among the materials, imports of vegetable and animal oil; timber, animal feed; pesticide and paper decreased most. (VoV)
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