Vietnam gained $24.14 billion from agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports in the first five months of 2024, up 21% compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Imports were estimated at $17.61 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.53 billion, a significant surge of 64.5% year-on-year.

All groups of products posted growth during the period, with agriculture products earning $13.11 billion, soaring 27.7% year-on-year; forestry products $6.58 billion, 22.7%, and seafood $3.5 billion, 3.6%.

Key export items included timber $6.14 billion, up 23.6%; coffee $2.9 billion, 44.1%; rice $2.65 billion, 38.2%; cashew $41.55 billion, 19.3%; vegetables $2.59 billion, 28.1%; and shrimps $1.3 billion, 7.5%.

Exports to key markets increased remarkably, including Asia up 17.5% year-on-year, Americas 23.1%, Europe 39.4% and Africa 26.1%.

The US, China and Japan remained the three largest importers of Vietnam's agro-forestry-aquatic products in the five-month period, making up 20.6%, 19.2% and 6.7%, respectively.