Exporters of agro-forestry-fishery products gathered at a meeting withState officials on March 30 to seek ways to address difficulties amid adramatic fall in the shipment of these commodities during the firstquarter.
From January-March, agro-forestry-fishery exports reached 6.13 billion USD, tumbling 13.2 percent from a year earlier.
Although aquatic exports traditionally contract in the Q1 and rise inthe following months, they plummeted 23 percent during the reviewed time- the biggest nosedive in the last five years.
Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for SeafoodExporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Hoai Nam said shrimp shipmentsdropped nearly 30 percent and those of tra fish and tuna decreased 18percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Such dramaticdeclines were attributable to anti-dumping duties levied on Vietnameseshrimp and tra fish exports in the US, one of the largest markets forVietnam’s seafood.
Shrimp and tra fish shipments tothe US have slumped 44 percent while revenue from exports to the EU andJapan, other traditional major markets, fell respectively by 11 percentand 15 percent.
Nam ascribed the situation to thefact that major aquatic exporters like India and Thailand are harvestingand their currency exchange rates are uncontrolled, disadvantagingVietnamese firms.
He said the VASEP considersproduction cost reduction the essential method to cope with the currentexport obstacles, but is also urging additional assistance from theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The coffee industry is also facing export challenges; during thereviewed period, the country shipped 350,000 tonnes of coffee worth 734million USD abroad, down 41.4 percent in volume and 37.3 percent invalue.
The Central Highlands, home to the majorityof Vietnam’s coffee growing area, is undergoing a prolonged drought,said the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, adding that coffee pricesare declining, hindering farmers and businesses’ efforts to improveproduction.
It forecasts coffee export prices will continue to decline.
Pepper sales in the first quarter likewise dropped by 23 percent fromthe same period last year despite an increase in prices, the VietnamPepper Association reported, pointing to the fact that the peppercultivation area is rapidly expanding and farmers lack cultivationexperience.
At the meeting, MARD Minister Cao DucPhat pledged his ministry will bridge association members withlocalities applying certified production practices to improve the valueof Vietnamese pepper.
Between January and March, theexport of outdoor wooden furniture destined for Europe plunged sharply,said Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest ProductsAssociation Nguyen Ton Quyen.
The same trend wasrecorded in woodchip shipments to China, Japan, and the Republic ofKorea (RoK). Notably, the RoK imports of Vietnamese woodchips sank by 29percent, he noted.
Quyen said though businesseshave cooperated with one another to minimise expenses, the MARD needs toissue policies facilitating companies to use domestically-sourcedmaterials.
During the function, associations andbusinesses requested drastic actions to simplify administrativeprocedures and agricultural land use taxation.
Meanwhile, Minister Phat urged businesses to step up trade promotion tomaintain export growth, adding that the MARD will report their proposalsto the Government. He also asked his ministry’s departments to workwith associations and companies to seek measures to streamline exportprocedures.-VNA
From January-March, agro-forestry-fishery exports reached 6.13 billion USD, tumbling 13.2 percent from a year earlier.
Although aquatic exports traditionally contract in the Q1 and rise inthe following months, they plummeted 23 percent during the reviewed time- the biggest nosedive in the last five years.
Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for SeafoodExporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Hoai Nam said shrimp shipmentsdropped nearly 30 percent and those of tra fish and tuna decreased 18percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Such dramaticdeclines were attributable to anti-dumping duties levied on Vietnameseshrimp and tra fish exports in the US, one of the largest markets forVietnam’s seafood.
Shrimp and tra fish shipments tothe US have slumped 44 percent while revenue from exports to the EU andJapan, other traditional major markets, fell respectively by 11 percentand 15 percent.
Nam ascribed the situation to thefact that major aquatic exporters like India and Thailand are harvestingand their currency exchange rates are uncontrolled, disadvantagingVietnamese firms.
He said the VASEP considersproduction cost reduction the essential method to cope with the currentexport obstacles, but is also urging additional assistance from theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The coffee industry is also facing export challenges; during thereviewed period, the country shipped 350,000 tonnes of coffee worth 734million USD abroad, down 41.4 percent in volume and 37.3 percent invalue.
The Central Highlands, home to the majorityof Vietnam’s coffee growing area, is undergoing a prolonged drought,said the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, adding that coffee pricesare declining, hindering farmers and businesses’ efforts to improveproduction.
It forecasts coffee export prices will continue to decline.
Pepper sales in the first quarter likewise dropped by 23 percent fromthe same period last year despite an increase in prices, the VietnamPepper Association reported, pointing to the fact that the peppercultivation area is rapidly expanding and farmers lack cultivationexperience.
At the meeting, MARD Minister Cao DucPhat pledged his ministry will bridge association members withlocalities applying certified production practices to improve the valueof Vietnamese pepper.
Between January and March, theexport of outdoor wooden furniture destined for Europe plunged sharply,said Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest ProductsAssociation Nguyen Ton Quyen.
The same trend wasrecorded in woodchip shipments to China, Japan, and the Republic ofKorea (RoK). Notably, the RoK imports of Vietnamese woodchips sank by 29percent, he noted.
Quyen said though businesseshave cooperated with one another to minimise expenses, the MARD needs toissue policies facilitating companies to use domestically-sourcedmaterials.
During the function, associations andbusinesses requested drastic actions to simplify administrativeprocedures and agricultural land use taxation.
Meanwhile, Minister Phat urged businesses to step up trade promotion tomaintain export growth, adding that the MARD will report their proposalsto the Government. He also asked his ministry’s departments to workwith associations and companies to seek measures to streamline exportprocedures.-VNA
