In 2022, there are seven products/groups of agricultural-forestry-seafood products with export turnover of over 3 billion USD, including wood and wood products; shrimp; coffee; rice; rubber; vegetables, and fruits.
Exports of wood and wood products reached 15.85 billion USD
According to the General Department of Forestry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), in 2022, wood and forest product exports are estimated at 16.928 billion USD, exceeding 3.8% of the plan, up 6.1% compared with 2021. Of which, exports of wood and wood products are estimated at 15.85 billion USD, up 7%. The United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and the EU remain the five main export markets for Vietnamese wood and wood products.
In 2022, the export of wood and wood products was estimated to reach 15.85 billion USD. (Photo: Internet)
2022 is considered a very difficult year for export industries in general and wood and forest products in particular. The inflation in major export markets of Vietnam, especially in the US and the EU (two markets with export turnover accounting for over 65% of the total export turnover of the whole industry) has caused the export of wood and wood products to these two markets to decline seriously in the third quarter of 2022.
“One of the important motivations for the growth in export turnover from the beginning of the year to now is the expansion of exports in China, Japan, and Korea,” the Vietnam Wood and Forest Products Association said.
In 2023, wood and forest product exports will head to the target of 17.5 billion USD.
Shrimp exports hit a new record of 4.33 billion USD
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, shrimp exports in 2022 reached a new record of 4.33 billion USD. This is an encouraging figure for a year with many challenges for seafood exporters in general and shrimp in particular such as the decline in world market demand due to record high global inflation, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, currency fluctuations, increased production costs, limited raw materials, limited capital turnover for production, and strong competition from competitors.
Coffee exports reached 3.94 billion USD
The Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said: It is estimated that Vietnam’s coffee exports in 2022 reached 1.72 million tonnes, worth 3.94 billion USD, up 10.1% in volume and 28.3% in value compared with 2021. The average export price of coffee in 2022 was 2,293 USD/tonne, up 16.6% compared with 2021.
Vietnam’s coffee exports in 2022 reached 1.72 million tonnes, worth 3.94 billion USD, up 10.1% in volume and 28.3% in value compared with 2021. (Photo: Internet)
In 2022, the global coffee market faces many difficulties when global inflation increases sharply and consumers tend to tighten their expenses. These have caused the demand for coffee to decrease. Though, Vietnam’s coffee industry still achieved remarkable results when exports grew at a double-digit rate compared with 2021.
Although the export turnover is over 3 billion USD, the task for the coming years for this industry is to reduce sales by ‘bag’, increase sales by ‘package’, and towards sustainable development of the coffee industry.
It is forecast that in 2023, Vietnam’s coffee industry will still benefit from the recovery of world demand and guaranteed domestic supply in both output and quality, meeting export requirements.
Exports of rice reached 3.49 billion USD
The MARD said that in 2022, rice exports reached 3.49 billion USD. This is an impressive result in the context of many fluctuations in the market when the rice price went down at the beginning of the year and it was not until the third quarter that it increased. In the past year, there were times when the export price of Vietnam’s 5% broken rice surpassed Thailand and ranked first in the world.
Export of vegetables and fruits reached 3.34 billion USD
According to preliminary statistics of the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s export turnover of vegetables anf fruits in 2022 reached 3.34 billion USD, down 6.6% compared with 2021 (3.55 billion USD). In the opposite direction, Vietnam also spent over 2 billion USD on importing vegetables and fruits in 2022, up 35% compared with 2021. Thus, this whole year, the vegetables and fruits trade surplus is more than 1.3 billion USD.
Vietnamese fruits and vegetables are mostly exported to 10 major markets, including China, the US, Korea, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan (China), the Netherlands, Australia, Hong Kong (China), and Laos. In contrast, Vietnam’s 10 largest fruit and vegetable importers are China, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Myanmar, South Africa, Korea, Cambodia, India, and Thailand.
In 2023, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association forecasts that Vietnam’s export turnover will increase by 20-30%, reaching about 4 billion USD. (Photo: Internet)
On January 8, 2023, the Chinese market will fully open, ending the ‘Zero Covid’ policy. In addition, the US has officially opened the door for Vietnamese grapefruit; longan and macadamia are also allowed to be imported by Japan; Newzeland opens the door for Vietnamese limes, etc. These are all difficult markets, however, if we can export vegetables and fruits to these markets, the opportunities for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry shall be expanded.
In 2023, the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association forecasts that Vietnam’s export turnover will increase by 20-30%, reaching about 4 billion USD.
Rubber exports reached 3.31 billion USD
The Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that in 2022, despite being greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the world economy facing many difficulties, Vietnam’s rubber exports still grew positively.
It is estimated that in 2022, Vietnam’s rubber exports reached about 2.14 million tonnes, worth 3.31 billion USD, up 9.6% in volume and 1.1% in value compared with 2021. The average export price reached 1,547 USD/tonne, down 7.8% compared with 2021.
The recovery of global rubber demand has been a driving factor in rubber exports over the past year. However, the fluctuation of the USD exchange rate while the price of rubber latex fell in the last few months of the year made the correlation between rubber production costs and selling prices unbalanced.
In 2022, Vietnam’s rubber exports to most markets grew well compared with the same period in 2021. In particular, China is still the largest market for Vietnam’s rubber, accounting for 70.8% of the country’s total rubber export value. India ranks second with 6.6%.
Cashew exports reached 3.07 billion USD
According to the MARD, cashew nut exports in 2022 reached 3.07 billion USD. Although export turnover exceeded 3 billion USD, the result was lower than the initial target set by the industry (3.8 billion USD) due to the difficult market.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine affects Vietnam’s cashew nut exports. The major economies are in recession and rising inflation makes consumers tend to increase savings. These are the reasons why Vietnam’s cashew nut exports are in difficulty.
To support the cashew sector, the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) recommends functional agencies to assist in the research and development of specialized standards and technical regulations for cashew nuts and cashew by-products. This is to have a basis for quality assessment and long-term planning of growing areas of cashew. In case increasing the area of cashew nuts in the country is difficult, it is necessary to have a solution to cooperate in exploiting and developing cashew material areas in Cambodia and Laos to ensure the supply of raw materials for processing and export./.