Vietnam’s export turnover of agro-forestry-fishery products during the first five months of 2022 stood at US$13.08 billion, up 20.3% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Processing catfish for exports. File photo

“Such a performance has been a highlight of Vietnam’s exports in the five months, accounting for 8.55% of total turnover,” noted the ministry.

Among the lot, seafood, rice, and cassava are the main export items, with seafood  in May reaching $1.1 billion, up 39.5% year on year. This resulted in an earning of $4.75 billion during the January-May period, up 45%.

A report from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) attributed the positive result to high demand for Vietnam’s seafood products, in which shrimps and catfish brought in billions of dollars. VASP estimated shrimp exports earned around $1.8 billion, up 38%, and that of catfish roughly $1.2 billion, up 90%.

Meanwhile, rice  also fetched an export turnover of $386 million in May, up 40% against the previous month and 14% year-on-year, while the turnover from cassava and products made of cassava reached $636 million, up 38.7% year-on-year.

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development added Vietnam’s agricultural sector posted a trade surplus of nearly $5.1 billion during the five months, nearly triple the amount in the same period of last year.

For the first five months, Vietnam’s total exports stood at $152.81 billion, up 16.4% year on year. Imports, meanwhile, reached $152.3 billion, up 15%, and led to a surplus of $516 million. This was a stark contrast to a deficit of $1.24 billion in the five-month period of last year.