This figure is down 9.5% from the same period last year, however, the decline of several key sectors has slowed down while some others recorded robust growth.
Fruit and vegetables surged by 57.5% to 3.45 billion USD, while rice soared by 36.1% to 3.17 billion USD. Cashew nuts and coffee rose by 8.9% and 2.3% respectively to 2.23 billion USD and 2.94 billion USD.
Along with the export increases, the prices of many exports also hit record highs, with rice at times reaching 650 USD per tonne while the average price for the January-August period was 542 USD per tonne, up 11.5% from last year.
Coffee prices averaged at 2,455 USD per tonne, up 8.5%, with China, the US and Japan remaining the largest buyers of Vietnamese coffee.
It is only half a month away from the end of the third quarter, so the eight-month results are the foundation for the agriculture sector to accelerate exports in the time ahead.
For rice, the full-year target of 4 billion USD is within reach as the demand for the grain has remained high following the Indian ban on exporting regular rice.
Fruit and vegetable revenues are also edging towards the goal of 5 billion USD.
In the first eight months of 2023, Vietnam’s durian exports have already surpassed 1 billion USD, while the US also recently gave the greenlight to Vietnamese coconuts — a key fruit of many localities in the Mekong Delta.
