Source: thesaigontimes.vn
The agricultural sector has achieved a record trade surplus since 2015 until now. Image: thesaigontimes.vn
Impressive results in a difficult year
The report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that the added value of the entire agricultural sector (GDP) in 2023 will reach a growth rate of 3.83%, of which, agriculture will increase by 3.88%; aquatic products increased by 3.71%; Forestry increased by 3.74%. This is the highest growth rate since 2019 until now (2019 increased by 2.67%; 2020 increased by 3.04%; 2021 and 2022 reached 3.71% and 3.36%, respectively).
As for exports, by 2023 the entire agricultural sector will reach 53.01 billion USD, a record high trade surplus since 2015 until now (in 2015 reached 8.17 billion US dollars; in 2016 reached 8.84 billion US dollars; in 2017 reached 9.96 billion US dollars; in 2018 reached 8.46 billion US dollars; in 2019 reached 9.27 billion US dollars; in 2020 reached 10.89 billion US dollars; 2021 and 2022 will reach: 6.54 billion USD and 8.4 billion USD respectively – PV), reaching 12.07 billion USD, an increase of 43.7% compared to the previous year. Of which, main agricultural product exports reached 27.1 billion USD, an increase of 18.8%; livestock reached nearly 515.5 million USD, an increase of 26.2%; Main forestry products reached 14.4 billion USD, down 15.8% and aquatic products reached 8.98 billion USD, down 17.8% compared to the previous year.
In 2023, there will be 6 industries/industry groups achieving export turnover of over 3 billion USD, including fruits and vegetables reaching 5.69 billion USD, an increase of 69.2% compared to the previous year; rice reached about 4.78 billion USD, an increase of 38.4%; cashew nuts reached 3.63 billion USD, up 17.6%; Coffee reached 4.18 billion USD, up 3.1%; shrimp reached 3.38 billion USD, down 21.7%; Wood and wood products reach 13.37 billion USD, down 16.5% compared to 2022.
To achieve the above results, last year, the agricultural industry made great efforts in production to meet business requirements, including raw material sources, food safety and hygiene standards and openness. market…
Specifically, in 2023 the whole industry has focused on increasing rice production area (increased by 10,600 hectares, equivalent to 0.1% compared to the previous year – PV) as well as applying technical advances to increase productivity (In 2023, it will reach 61 quintals/hectare, an increase of 1 quintal/hectare, equivalent to an increase of 1.7% compared to 2022-PV). This is an important factor contributing to bringing the country’s rice output in 2023 to 43.5 million tons, an increase of 1.9% compared to the previous year, helping to meet the needs of domestic consumption, processing, and production. used as animal feed and have surplus for export of more than 8.1 million tons.
Meanwhile, to achieve the figure of 5.69 billion USD in fruit and vegetable export turnover in 2023, the agricultural sector has expanded by 1,250 hectares of fruit tree area, an increase of 28.6% compared to the previous year. there. Of which, durian reached 1.2 million tons, an increase of 39%; Rambutan reached 325,000 tons, up 3.4%; pineapple reached 724,000 tons, an increase of 2.9%; mango reached 1,015 tons, up 2.1%; Longan reached 635,000 tons, up 1.6%; fabric reached 370,000 tons, an increase of 1.2%…
In addition, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, last year, this unit coordinated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to negotiate to open the market for more new products as well as supplementing growing area codes and processing facilities. processing/packaging eligible for export to many markets.
Accordingly, in 2023, relevant units of the agricultural industry will add 38 seafood export establishments to Korea; 13 seafood processing facilities exporting to the European Union (EU); 45 establishments packaging black tiger shrimp, white shrimp, live lobster and crab for export to China; 1 facility goes to the United States and 2 facilities go to Russia.
At the same time, in 2023, there will be 6,997 growing area codes and 1,613 packaging facility codes allowed to export to China, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan and EU. At the same time, watermelon products exported to China and fresh coconuts exported were also added USA.
In addition, the establishment of 1,400 additional enterprises in 2023, helping to bring the total number of agricultural sectors to 16,100 enterprises, is also a contributing factor to helping this sector achieve the results mentioned above.
There is still much work to be done for the agricultural sector to develop sustainably. Photo: thesaigontimes.vn
Contains hidden risk factors in the future
The results achieved by the agricultural sector in a difficult market context are encouraging. However, behind that result, the agricultural industry still contains many risk factors, which have a great impact on the sustainable development of the industry.
Looking at it positively, expanding the area of fruit trees is the premise to create raw material sources to serve the expanding export demand, especially durian trees. However, there is a current situation: a large area of fruit trees, especially durian in the Mekong Delta, is developed spontaneously, posing many potential risks, especially comply with import market regulations.
At the conference on management of growing area codes and packaging facility codes taking place in August 2023, Mr. Hoang Trung, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development assessed the situation of violations of growing area codes. and the packaging facility is extremely complicated.
At that time, he cited that there were provincial leaders and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in some localities that did not pay much “attention” to compliance with regulations in the management of planting area codes and closed establishments. package. “If there are no changes, being banned from exporting to markets is inevitable,” he said.
The report of the Plant Protection Department also showed that, from the beginning of 2021 to the first half of 2023, this unit received many notices of non-compliance with plant quarantine when detecting harmful organisms. . Among them, Tien Giang province was warned by the import market 267 times; Tay Ninh had 204 warnings; Dong Nai has 186 times; Binh Thuan and Dak Lak each had 23 warnings; Long An was warned 19 times and the rest were other localities.
Of course, immediately after that, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directed to strengthen control and management of planting area codes and packaging facility codes. However, this is still an issue that needs to be addressed more in the future if the industry wants to develop sustainably.
Mr. Vu Duc Con, Chairman of the Durian Association of Dak Lak province, said that in Vietnam there are currently 7 agricultural regions, there are now 6 regions, with 34 localities growing durian, of which many localities have the presence of durian. area of over 10,000 hectares.
According to him, in Dak Lak province alone, there are 15 districts, towns and cities all developing durian cultivation, with an area of up to about 28,600 hectares by June 2023. Of these, over 15,800 hectares are in the basic construction stage, meaning they have not yet been harvested, or in other words, in the next few years, Dak Lak’s durian output will increase very strongly.
However, the current concern is that although the production area is large, the portion granted a planting area code is only more than 2,000 hectares and the area with consumption links between farmers and businesses is also too low. , less than 2,000 hectares (Statistics until September 2023- Reporter).
The above situation is the instability that needs to be resolved in the agricultural industry in general and durian – which is a product that creates a “breakthrough” for Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable industry in 2023 – in particular.
Meanwhile, with the seafood industry, a report from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that by the end of 2023, the main seafood products, including shrimp, pangasius, and tuna, will be a sharp decrease compared to the previous year. Of which, shrimp reached 3.4 billion USD, down 20%; Pangasius reached over 1.8 billion USD, down 25%; Tuna reached 850 million USD, down 16%; Seafood exploitation reached 3.8 billion USD, down 11%…
High production costs due to rising feed prices, while the quality of seed and the farming environment contain many risks are the problems that cause low production efficiency of the shrimp and pangasius industry, affecting competitiveness. painting.
Mr. Nguyen Van Drama, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cafatex Seafood Joint Stock Company, cited that previously the cost of producing Vietnamese pangasius was only about 1 USD/kg, but has now increased to 1.2-1.3 USD. USD/kg, only about 1 USD/kg higher than Alaska Pollock fish, so it is very difficult to compete.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ong Hang Van, Deputy General Director of Truong Giang Seafood Joint Stock Company, said that the production cost of Vietnamese pangasius is currently higher than that of Chinese snakehead fish, so it is difficult to compete. .
As for shrimp, Ecuador and India are identified as direct competitors, but because the production costs of the Vietnamese shrimp industry are higher, it is difficult to compete with these competitors.
Meanwhile, with seafood products, VASEP also pointed out that the IUU yellow card (Illegal, unreported and unregulated seafood exploitation – PV) continues to be a challenge, if not resolved, it will cause seafood exports to the EU to stagnate in 2024, because procedures for confirming and certifying exploited aquatic products are still inadequate.
Besides, despite reaching a record in rice export volume and turnover in 2023, when considering the efficiency brought to businesses, it is still low, even at a loss. This is an issue that needs to be paid attention to in order to have solutions to bring more positive results in 2024 as well as in the near future.
Obviously, besides the achievements that have been achieved, for the agricultural sector to develop more sustainably, there is still much work to be done…
