Exporters of agro-forestry-fishery products gathered at a meeting with
State officials on March 30 to seek ways to address difficulties amid a
dramatic fall in the shipment of these commodities during the first
quarter.
From January-March, agro-forestry-fishery exports reached 6.13 billion USD, tumbling 13.2 percent from a year earlier.
Although aquatic exports traditionally contract in the Q1 and rise in
the following months, they plummeted 23 percent during the reviewed time
– the biggest nosedive in the last five years.
Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Seafood
Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Hoai Nam said shrimp shipments
dropped nearly 30 percent and those of tra fish and tuna decreased 18
percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Such dramatic
declines were attributable to anti-dumping duties levied on Vietnamese
shrimp and tra fish exports in the US, one of the largest markets for
Vietnam’s seafood.
Shrimp and tra fish shipments to
the US have slumped 44 percent while revenue from exports to the EU and
Japan, other traditional major markets, fell respectively by 11 percent
and 15 percent.
Nam ascribed the situation to the
fact that major aquatic exporters like India and Thailand are harvesting
and their currency exchange rates are uncontrolled, disadvantaging
Vietnamese firms.
He said the VASEP considers
production cost reduction the essential method to cope with the current
export obstacles, but is also urging additional assistance from the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The coffee industry is also facing export challenges; during the
reviewed period, the country shipped 350,000 tonnes of coffee worth 734
million USD abroad, down 41.4 percent in volume and 37.3 percent in
value.
The Central Highlands, home to the majority
of Vietnam’s coffee growing area, is undergoing a prolonged drought,
said the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, adding that coffee prices
are declining, hindering farmers and businesses’ efforts to improve
production.
It forecasts coffee export prices will continue to decline.
Pepper sales in the first quarter likewise dropped by 23 percent from
the same period last year despite an increase in prices, the Vietnam
Pepper Association reported, pointing to the fact that the pepper
cultivation area is rapidly expanding and farmers lack cultivation
experience.
At the meeting, MARD Minister Cao Duc
Phat pledged his ministry will bridge association members with
localities applying certified production practices to improve the value
of Vietnamese pepper.
Between January and March, the
export of outdoor wooden furniture destined for Europe plunged sharply,
said Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products
Association Nguyen Ton Quyen.
The same trend was
recorded in woodchip shipments to China, Japan, and the Republic of
Korea (RoK). Notably, the RoK imports of Vietnamese woodchips sank by 29
percent, he noted.
Quyen said though businesses
have cooperated with one another to minimise expenses, the MARD needs to
issue policies facilitating companies to use domestically-sourced
materials.
During the function, associations and
businesses requested drastic actions to simplify administrative
procedures and agricultural land use taxation.
Meanwhile, Minister Phat urged businesses to step up trade promotion to
maintain export growth, adding that the MARD will report their proposals
to the Government. He also asked his ministry’s departments to work
with associations and companies to seek measures to streamline export
procedures.-VNA