Vietnam earned an estimated $11.9 billion from exporting agriculture, forestry, and fisheries products in the first quarter of 2023, a year-on-year decline of 14.4 per cent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Import value, meanwhile, stood at $9.44 billion, down 7.2 per cent.

Products recording stronger growth in export value against the same period last year include rice, with $952 million, up 30.2 per cent, fruit and vegetables, with $935 million, up 14.2 per cent, and milk and dairy products, with $33.3 million, up 22.2 per cent.

Major export markets for Vietnam’s agriculture, forestry, and fisheries products were Asia, with 48.8 per cent of the market share, the Americas with 20.3 per cent, Europe with 12.8 per cent, Oceania with 1.4 per cent, and Africa with 1.2 per cent.

Director of the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics at MARD, Nguyen Quoc Toan, said the decline in exports was the result of a slowing global economy, the Russia - Ukraine conflict, and high inflation in certain countries affecting consumption and import demand.

With Covid-19 now brought under control, many countries have resumed exporting agricultural products, resulting in an increase in supply in the global market.