Vietnam to Export More Agricultural, Forest Products

 

The ministry’s Planning Department has recently put forth major market-related orientations to 2010. Accordingly, Vietnam will boost the export of such items as coffee, cashew nuts, tea, pepper, processed fruits and vegetable and woodwork of fine quality to the European Union (EU) which annually spends some US$600 million importing local agricultural and forest products.

 

Vietnam will increase its annual revenue of agricultural and forest products exported to China to US$700-800 million in the coming years from current US$400-500 million. Key products include fresh fruits, vegetables, rubber, cashew nuts and cassava starch. The department predicted Vietnam would export more coffee and wood products to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the next few years. The country now earns US$400-900 million each year from shipping its agricultural and forest products, mostly rice, to the block.

 

Regarding other major markets, Vietnam will strengthen export of fruit, vegetables, woodwork and handicrafts to the United States; meat, fruit, vegetables, tea and coffee to Japan; and fruit, vegetables, meat, tea and pepper to Russia and Eastern European countries. Japan annually spends some US$30 billion importing different kinds of meat, fruit, vegetables, tea and coffee, and Vietnamese products account for 0.3-0.5 percent of the total.

 

This year, Vietnam will earn higher farm produce export revenues, the agriculture ministry stated, noting that the local agricultural and forest products are now shipped to over 100 countries and territories. It is estimated that export revenues for fruit and vegetables will hit US$260 million in 2005, up 45 per cent over 2004, although local firms still face many difficulties, including high freight costs and poor preservation facilities.

 

Vietnam reaped US$196 million from shipping fruit and vegetables abroad, mainly to China, Japan, Russia and France, in the first 10 months of this year, seeing a year-on-year surge of 35.7 per cent. In the period, it exported 4.6 million tonnes of rice totaling over US$1.2 billion, 734,000 tonnes of coffee worth US$588 million, and 437,000 tonnes of rubber valued at US$574 million, recording respective value increases of 49 per cent, 10.2 per cent, and 25.3 per cent.

Cashew nuts
Vietnam, the world's second biggest cashew exporter after India, is likely to earn US$495 million from exporting the product in 2005, up 13.5 per cent against 2004, the ministry said, noting that it is encouraging local enterprises to beef up trade promotion in traditional markets such as the United States, China, Australia, the Netherlands, England, Canada, Russia, Italy and Japan. Up to 41 per cent and 25 per cent of Vietnam’s total exported cashew nuts in 2004 went to the United States and China, respectively.

 

The ministry is also encouraging local firms to upgrade technologies to raise the quality of nuts for export, and further process other parts of cashew nut trees, including their fruit, rinds and trunks. It plans to increase cashew acreage to 450,000-500,000 hectares by 2010 from current 350,000 hectares, produce 700,000 tonnes of nuts annually by 2010, seeing nut export revenues of at least US$700 million. Specifically, Vietnam will grow more cashew trees in central and southern localities, as well as replace old strains with new ones.

 

Vietnam exported 86,000 tonnes of cashew nuts valued at US$408 million in the first 10 months of this year, up 0.4 per cent in volume and 18.1 per cent in value against the same period last year. It sold 105,000 tonnes of cashew nuts overseas totaling US$436 million in 2004, the ministry said.

 

Rice
Vietnam, the world's second biggest rice exporter after Thailand, will ship 200,000 tonnes of rice to Cuba next year, according to the Northern Food Corporation. It exported over 4.6 million tonnes of the commodity worth more than US$1.2 billion in the first 10 months of this year, posting year-on-year rise of 30 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. It sold just over four million tonnes of rice worth US$941 million in 2004 mainly in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and the Middle East, up 6.3 per cent and 30.6 per cent from 2003.

 

Vietnam shipped 64,000 tonnes of tea totaling US$69 million in the first 10 months of 2005, experiencing year-on-year respective drops of 25 per cent and 15.2 per cent, mainly due to lower than expected output caused by prolonged drought and unfavourable weather conditions, according to the Vietnam Tea Association. Earlier, the agriculture ministry hoped that the country would make total output of over 577,000 tonnes of fresh tea buds from 125,000 hectares of tea, and export some 100,000 tonnes of the product valued at nearly US$110 million this year. Vietnam exported 97,000 tonnes of tea worth US$93 million last year, mainly to China, Taiwan, Russia and the United States.

 

Rubber
Vietnam is estimated to export 550,000 tonnes of rubber totaling US$610 million in 2005, recording year-on-year respective rises of 11.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent, according to the Vietnam Rubber Association. The country, which shipped 495,000 tonnes of the product valued at US$579 million in 2004, exported 437,000 tonnes of rubber worth US$574 million, mainly to China, South Korea, Japan, Germany and the United States, in the first 10 months of this year, posting year-on-year respective increases of 10.2 per cent and 25.3 per cent.

 

In addition to natural rubber, Vietnam is stepping up export of rubber wood and such rubber products as furniture, tires and gloves. It is expected to reap US$100 million from selling rubber wood overseas in 2005, the association said. Vietnam plans to increase its rubber tree acreage to 700,000 hectares with dried latex output of some 520,000 tonnes in 2010 from current 500,000 hectares, and construct more rubber processing plants in the years to come. In addition, the country will pour stronger investment into raising productivity of existing rubber plantations, renewing ways of collecting latex, and building new processing plants near material zones.

 

Regarding cacao, a farm product with great potential export,Vietnam plans to increase its acreage to 80,000 hectares, which will churn out some 120,000 tons of cacao beans each year, by 2010. If all the beans are exported, the country can reap US$150-180 million, said an official at the National Institute of Agricultural Planning and Production.

 

The institute and other organizations from the United States and the Netherlands are selecting suitable cacao varieties, mainly imported ones, turning out more seeds and seedlings, and transferring cultivation techniques to local farmers, he said, noting that 28,500 hectares of cacao trees will be grown in the central highlands region by 2010.

 

The world’s annual demand for cacao is over 3.1 million tonnes. Western European countries, the United States, India and China consume great volumes, the official said, noting that Vietnam will develop its cacao processing industry in the long term. Vietnam currently houses more than 3,000 hectares of cacao trees, mainly in the central highlands region, and some southern provinces.