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Vietnam’s exports of cultivated products set at US$21 billion

The Hanoitimes – The cultivation sector plans to earn more than US$21 billion in export value this year, rising 2.2-2.3 percent against the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The export value of key farm produce in the first two months of this year hit $3.3 billion, a year-on-year rise of 27.8 percent. 
Cashew nut export topped the list in the first two months, with 54,000 tons shipped abroad, worth $555 million, up over 73 percent and nearly 95 percent, year on year. It was followed by vegetables and fruit, worth $672 million, up 59.5 percent. 
In February, Vietnam earned $179 million from export of about 369,000 tons of rice, raising the two-month rice exports to 861,000 tons, worth $419 million, up 17.2 percent in volume and 34 percent in value over the corresponding period in 2017. 
Other products saw increases in both volume and value, including coffee, tea, cashew nuts, vegetable and fruits, cassava, and cassava products. 
Export revenue of rubber and pepper increased 29.5 percent and 36.5 percent to $348 million and $121 million, respectively. 
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, cities and provinces nation-wide will continue shifting their plant structure to grow more profitable crops that are adaptive to climate change, such as corn, and fruit and vegetables, as well as developing aquaculture, especially in the northern, south central, and Central Highlands regions. 
The Mekong Delta, in particular, will boost its application of high technology in order to create new varieties of fruit, vegetables and flowers, as well as developing processing and post-harvest preservation technologies.
This year, the country aims to increase the fruit plantation areas to approximately 930,000 ha and create high added value products. Each locality will develop large-scale fruit areas ensuring good agricultural practices (GAP) and food safety, in addition to high-technology vegetable and flower production, focusing on major cities.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Thanh Nam, said Vietnam has a favorable climate and land to grow different kinds of fruits, so localities having these advantages must have development plans in place and support enterprises in developing raw materials for the export of fruits. 
Vietnam earned a record of nearly $3.45 billion from fruit and vegetable exports in 2017, rising by 40.5% from 2016. China, Japan, the US and the Republic of Korea were among the biggest importers of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables.
According to Nguyen Huu Dat, General Secretary of Vietnam Vegetables and Fruits Association, exports continued on a strong growth path last year, exceeding the value of some key export products such as rice, oil, and gas.
He said that in 2018 and beyond, besides improving the quality of vegetables and fruits, enterprises should focus on processing to add value and extend exports throughout the whole year, not just during peak seasons.
According to Dat, to have sustainability in vegetable and fruit exports, the agricultural sector must have large-scale production and individual households must join co-operatives. He emphasized that it would be easier to improve quality and produce greater quantities of the same products with large-scale co-operatives, ensuring food safety and competitiveness in the global market.
He added that the agricultural sector must develop associations in the production chain, ranging from the supply of seeds, cultivation, purchasing, and processing to export. Especially, fruit products that are exported to fastidious markets like the United States or Japan must ensure safety standards to have export stability, Dat said. 
Source: http://www.hanoitimes.vn/economy/2018/02/81E0C238/vietnam-s-exports-of-cultivated-products-set-at-us-21-billion/