Hanoi (VNA) – Exports of agro-forestry-fishery products in the firstfour months of the years were estimated at 12.3 billion USD, a year-on-yearsurge of 11.9 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.

The country raked in 6.5 billion USD from exports of main agriculturalproducts, 2.4 billion USD from seafood and 2.7 billion USD from main forestryproducts, up 11.9 percent, 13 percent and 7.9 percent from the same time lastyear, respectively.

During the period, the country shipped 2.16 million tonnes of rice abroad,earning 1.1 billion USD, year-on-year increases of 21.7 percent in volume and37.7 percent in value.

Average export price for rice in the first quarter of this year gained 15percent to reach 501 USD per tonne. China continued to be the largest importerof Vietnamese rice when it purchased 411,600 tonnes, or 29.1 percent of therice market share.

Rice export enjoyed strong growth in Indonesia (up 378 times), Iraq (up 16.7times), Malaysia (up 3.3 times), Ivory Coast (up 67.1 percent), Ghana (up 57.4percent), China’s Hong Kong (up 46.2 percent) and Singapore (up 24.6 percent).

In the January-April period, cashew export experienced sound expansion interms of both volume and value. Some 103,000 tonnes of cashew were shippedabroad at a value of 1.04 billion USD, rising 23.1 percent in quantity and 31.9percent in value from the same time last year.

The US, China and the Netherlands remained three top importers of Vietnamesecashew. They made up of 34.4 percent, 13.6 percent and 13.3 percent of themarket share, respectively.

The export value of vegetable went up nearly 30 percent to over 1.32 billionUSD in the period.

Earnings from coffee regained a slight rise of 0.4 percent to 1.3 billion USDdespite an 18.1 percent increase in volume with 691,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, theexport value of cassava went up 3.2 percent to 376 million USD in the period.

In a stark contrast, rubber and pepper saw their export values down of 21.4percent and 33.2 percent, respectively.

The ministry estimated that the country splashed out 9.5 billion USD onpurchasing foreign agro-forestry-fishery products in the four-month period,growing 11.7 percent from the same months in 2017.-VNA