Total export revenue for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries products reached $38.48 billion in the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year fall of 5.1 per cent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Key products contributing to export value included fruit and vegetables, with $4.2 billion, up 71.8 per cent year-on-year, rice with $3.66 billion, up 40.4 per cent, cashew nuts $2.61 billion, up 14.3 per cent, and coffee $3.16 billion, up 1.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the sector’s import value was estimated at $30.44 billion. This resulted in a trade surplus of $8.04 billion, a year-on-year rise of 22.5 per cent.

In September alone, export turnover was $4.8 billion, down 2.7 per cent against August but up 22 per cent year-on-year.

In the nine-month period, China, the US, and Japan remained the three largest export markets for the sector, accounting for 22.1 per cent, 20.7 per cent, and 7.6 per cent, respectively, of its total export value.

The sector targets total export revenue of $53-54 billion this year.