In the first two months of 2022, seafood exports reached US$1.5 billion, an increase of nearly 50% over the same period last year. Meanwhile, fruit and vegetable exports reached US$445 million, down over 21% compared to the same period in the previous year
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in February 2022, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry, and seafood is estimated at nearly 3.3 billion USD, up 21.8% compared to the same period in 2021 but down 31.4% compared to January 2022.
(A bright sign for exporting agricultural, forestry and seafood exports from Vietnam)
In the first two months of the year, agricultural, forestry, and seafood exports amounted to about US$8 billion, up 20.9% over the same period last year.
Notably, seafood exports in the first two months of 2022 increased 47.2% over the same period, reaching nearly US$1.5 billion.
Continuing to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, aquaculture businesses have boosted exports of advantage aquatic species such as Tra fish by 83.3%, shrimp by 34.3%.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), seafood production and processing are almost back to normal as before the pandemic. The market demand is very high so enterprises receive many orders. Exports to all major markets rose dramatically.
The prices of domestic raw materials have also risen, so farmers, fishermen, and enterprises are optimistic about a bumper year.
VASEP forecasts that seafood exports in the coming months will continue to record positive results. Accordingly, seafood exports in the first quarter of this year can reach over 2 billion USD.
Meanwhile, the group of fruit, vegetable, tea, cassava, and cassava products in the first two months of this year have all decreased by 10-12% compared to the same period last year.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Vegetable Association, said that China accounts for 55% of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export market share but since the end of 2021, exports to China is facing many difficulties, causing a decline in fruit and vegetable export turnover.
In January alone, fruit and vegetable exports to China amounted to nearly US$150 million, down 19% in value, and continued to down sharply in February. Fruit and vegetable no longer account for the highest proportion of exports in the Chinese market.
In the first two months of 2022, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports to other markets reached only US$445 million, down 21.1% compared to the same period last year.
“In markets such as the United States, Japan, or Korea, fruit and vegetable exports are still growing normally. In China, the tightened COVID-19 control and Lunar New Year holidays in February are the main reasons for the sharp decline in fruit and vegetable exports, ” Mr. Nguyen said. He also forecast that fruit and vegetable exports to China in the following months will continue to face difficulties if the policy remains unchanged.
Mr. Nguyen recommends that enterprises should closely monitor the customs clearance situation at border gates and seaports to regulate exports. Regarding production, the growing area should be reduced to avoid loss of price.