Vietnam earned $33.21 billion from the export of agriculture, forestry and fishery products in the first eight months of this year, figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show.

Total import turnover of such products, meanwhile, was estimated at $26.48 billion.

The sector therefore posted a trade surplus of $6.73 billion.

In August alone, sector exports totaled $4.36 billion, a year-on-year decline of 6.5 per cent. Farm produce exports were estimated at $2.16 billion, up 11.5 per cent, seafood $750 million, down 24 per cent, and forestry products $1.19 billion, down 21.5 per cent.

China, the US, and Japan continued to be the top three biggest export markets for the sector during the eight-month period. Exports to China accounted for 21.9 per cent, up 9.8 per cent year-on-year, the US 20.6 per cent, down 27.4 per cent, and Japan 7.6 per cent, down 10.6 per cent.