Vietnam’s Agricultural Exports Surge in 2024

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced that Vietnam’s agricultural exports reached $51.74 billion in the first ten months of the year, marking a remarkable increase of 20.2% compared to last year. The sector achieved a trade surplus of $15.2 billion, a notable rise of 62.2%.

Most of Vietnam’s major agricultural exports enjoyed a boost in turnover over the same period last year.

In total, Vietnam exported 1.2 million tons of coffee, generating $4.6 billion. Even though the export quantity dropped by 10.8%, the revenue saw a substantial increase of 40%, primarily due to a 57% rise in export prices, now at $3,981 per ton. Notably, demand from all key markets rose, with exports to the Philippines and Malaysia doubling compared to 2023.

Do Ha Nam, a representative from the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, remarked that Vietnamese coffee prices have reached unprecedented levels globally, with Robusta varieties now fetching higher prices than Arabica.

During the same ten months, Vietnam exported rice worth $4.86 billion, surpassing last year’s $4.67 billion. This represents a growth of 23.4% year-on-year. Export prices for rice also rose to $626 per ton, up 12% from the previous year.

MARD highlighted that rice exports to the Philippines—one of Vietnam’s most loyal customers—rose by 53.3% as of September. Shipments to Indonesia saw a 35.1% increase, while exports to Malaysia more than doubled compared to the previous year.

This year, Vietnam is on track to exceed last year’s rice export volume of 8 million tons, having already shipped 7.8 million tons in just ten months.

Following India’s decision to lift its rice export ban and reduce export taxes, the impact on Vietnam’s 5% broken rice exports may be observed. However, high-quality fragrant rice continues to sell well, according to MARD Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.

The export of vegetables and fruits also saw a substantial rise, achieving $6.34 billion in turnover in just ten months—a 31.5% increase from the first ten months of 2023. Durian exports played a significant role in this growth, contributing $3 billion, with sales to China alone boosting revenues by 37.8% to $3.8 billion in the first nine months.

MARD anticipates that the value of vegetable and fruit exports could surpass $7 billion, while the coffee and rice sectors may each yield over $5 billion.

Overall, the agricultural export turnover reached $5.91 billion in the past ten months. To meet the yearly goal of $62 billion, Vietnam needs to export an average of $5.5 billion worth of agricultural products in the last two months of the year.

Minister Tien informed the press in late October that this year could see historic high levels in agricultural exports. He reassured that livestock production is stable, alleviating concerns over a potential pork shortage during the Tet holiday.

This announcement from MARD has soothed public worries about farm produce supply disruptions caused by typhoon Yagi and flooding, which inflicted losses of around VND30.8 trillion impacting both livestock and seafood sectors.

By September’s end, Vietnam’s meat production reached 6.13 million tons, reflecting a 4.8% increase year-on-year. With falling animal feed prices, farmers are expected to replenish their pig herds quickly.

For the seafood industry, total production—covering both aquaculture and wild catch—reached 7.02 million tons. By the end of September 2024, seafood exports amounted to $7.23 billion, putting the $10 billion target for 2024 within reasonable reach.