Hanoi (VNA) – Major agricultural products enjoyed a risein export value in the first half of this year despite a fall in volume,according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

As of mid-June, Vietnam exported 133,124 tonnes of cashew nut for 1.284billion USD, a drop of 4.11 percent year-on-year in volume but a 20.71 percentincrease in value. Meanwhile, coffee exports fell 14.97 percent in volume and rose11.5 percent in value.

Dang Hoang Giang, Vice President of the Vietnam Cashew Association said thecashew sector’s productivity plummetted, forcing it to import large amounts of rawcashew. Imported raw cashew nut in the first five months of this year rose 74.8percent while import value increased 125.3 percent, he noted.

However, the price of exported cashew nut rose by 25 percent compared tothe same period last year to reach 9,500 USD per tonne, explaining the rise inexport value, he said. Giang also forecast that the situation will be the same forthe rest of the year, thus total export volume of 2017 may reach 350,000 tonneswith total revenue of about 3.3 billion USD.

Giang said domestic consumption accounts for only 5-7 percent of totalcashew output. Once the Global Cashew Council announces the nutrition value ofcashew, the association will launch promotion programmes across the country,aiming to boost domestic sales to 20-30 percent of total cashew nut production,he said.

The fall in volume and rise in value is predicted to happen in coffeesector also.

Nguyen Quang Binh, an expert in the sector said that coffee prices inthe rest of the year may drop slightly due to abundant supply, but will still exceedlast year’s average price.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs reported that the rubbersector saw the highest growth in exports, with 411,960 tonnes of rubber shippedabroad for more than 787,550 million USD, a surge of 63.23 percent in revenuethanks to high price. In the first five months of this year, rubber price forexport reached 1,957 USD per year, close to a 60 percent rise over the sameperiod last year.

Among major farm produce, peppercorn suffered the sharpest decrease inexport revenue at 16.8 percent year-on-year despite a rise of 18.3 percent in exportvolume.

Vice President of the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) Nguyen Thi MaiOanh said the decline was due to a slump in price caused by oversupply. Shealso predicted the price will continue falling for the rest of the year,leading to a fall in export value for the year. 

To survive and develop, domestic pepper farmers and businesses are tryingto improve product quality to meet the requirements of foreign markets. Alongwith efforts to link exporters and farmers and renovate farming technology, theMinistry of Industry and Trade and the VPA are working to build a trademark forVietnamese pepper, while expanding markets to promising countries in EasternEurope and Northern Asia.-VNA