Agricultural Export Continues to Run into Difficulty

In May, the export value of agricultural products was over US$5.48 billion, down 13.1 percent year on year; seafood export was estimated at US$2.206 billion, down 5.6 percent; and earnings from exported forest products were forecast at US$2.105 billion, down 10.1 percent.

 

Rice topped export turnover among agricultural products but its overseas shipment volume and value decreased significantly. Vietnam exported 641,000 tonnes valued at US$279 million in May, bringing the total volume to 2.86 million tonnes and the value to US$1.265 billion, down 3.2 percent in volume and 7.9 percent in value from the same period of 2012. The average rice export price reached US$445 per tonne in the first four months of 2013, down 9.2 percent year on year.

 

Other staples also slumped in both volume and value like coffee, rubber and tea. The country shipped 109,000 tonnes of coffee worth US$226 million in May, totalling 697,000 tonnes worth nearly US$1.49 billion in the January - May period, down 23.2 percent in volume and 21.7 percent in value from the same period of 2012. Rubber export reached only 55,000 tonnes with a value of US$140 million in May, grossing 287,000 tonnes and US$759 million from January to May, down 16.3 percent in volume and 26.8 percent in value from a year earlier.

 

But, cashew nuts and black pepper continued to increase. In May, Vietnam exported 21,000 tonnes of cashew worth US$137 million, up 9.7 percent in volume and 0.8 percent in value over the same period in 2012. Pepper export was estimated at 68,000 tonnes worth US$446 million in the month, up 13.9 percent in volume and 9.6 percent in value.

 

Insiders said price declines and global demand shrinkage were behind Vietnam’s agricultural export tumble. The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) forecast that the world rice market in 2013, especially in Asia where rice was most produced and consumed, tended to face more difficulty than in 2012 because of abundant supply amid shrinking demand. In addition, fluctuations and risks arising from stockpile clearance in major exporting countries resulted in fierce competition among suppliers.

 

Rubber prices were placed under huge pressure as inventories climbed in China and economic data were pessimistic in some countries, leading to weakening demand for the commodity. Moreover, oil price decline since February also caused natural rubber prices to fall, as oil is used for making synthetic rubber tyres.

 

Despite overall decline in export volume and value, Vietnam maintained good export growth to some traditional markets.

 

China remained the largest importer of Vietnamese rice. As many as 910,153 tonnes of rice were exported to the neighbouring country for US$381.2 million in the first five months, up 33.3 percent in volume and 29.2 percent in value year on year. Vietnam also had remarkable growth in export turnover to other markets like Singapore (39.3 percent), Hong Kong (26.4 percent) and Angola (184 percent). China contributed 38.7 percent to Vietnam’s rice export earnings in the first five months, followed by Malaysia (6.1 percent), Singapore (5.6 percent), Hong Kong (4.2 percent) and Indonesia (4.1 percent). Germany and the United States remained the two biggest coffee markets of Vietnam in the first four months, respectively accounting for 13.5 percent and 11.8 percent of Vietnam’s total coffee export value.

 

Rubber exports to Malaysia rose 5.8 percent in volume to over 39,000 tonnes, but slumped 11.8 percent in value to US$108.4 million. Malaysia was Vietnam’s second largest rubber importer with 17.5 percent of export of market share in the first four months.

 

The United States, China and the Netherlands were the top importers of Vietnamese cashew nuts, accounting for 27.7 percent, 17.9 percent and 10.5 percent of the country’s total cashew nut exports, respectively. Export turnover to Canada, India and Germany rose sharply in the first four months of 2013, up 135.8 percent, 296.7 percent and 41.7 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, cashew nut export value to China and the Netherlands slumped 6.1 percent and 15.7 percent year on year.

 

Faced with existing difficulties, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed companies to invest for manufacturing and quality improvement. Apart from traditional markets, they should seek new ones and promote exports with existing markets to boost export turnover of agricultural, forest and aquatic products in the remaining months of the year.