| Agricultural Products
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Aquaculture
Vietnam’s
aquaculture has prospered since the 1990s and earned even bigger reputation in
recent years. Aquaculture export currently ranks fourth in export quota, making
up 7.84% of the country’s total export quota. The main aquaculture products for
export include prawns, sea fish (tuna), brackish fish (“tra” and “basa”
catfish), octopus, cattle fish, and dried seafood. The quality of Vietnam’s
aquaculture products have been improved significantly recently as manufacturing
has managed to meet practices standards. Currently there are 90 countries/
regions importing Vietnam’s
aquaculture products with the biggest one being the USA,
followed by the EU, Japan, China, South Korea,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
However, Vietnam’s
aquaculture export makes up only 3.5% of the world’s figure, which certainly
does not match its high potential for development
Rice
Vietnam is
the second largest rice exporter after Thailand. Domestically it ranks
eighth among all export products. Last year only, Vietnam exported 4.5 million tons of
rice, achieving an export value of 1.454 billion US dollars. Although rice
quality and price have increased immensely, there still exist limitations in
branding as well as problems concerning seeds, quality, production cost, and
exporters’ capability. Rice cultivation area is now about 7.5 million ha, mostly
in Mekong River Delta (over 50%) and Red River Delta (15%). The average
productivity is 4.8 tons/ ha. Among the largest importers of Vietnam’s rice are the Philippines, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Japan and Africa.
With rapid increase in recent years, Vietnam is currently the fourth largest rubber
exporter, after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. In 2007 only, about
720,000 tons were exported for 1.4 billion US dollars, placing rubber the ninth
largest Vietnam’s
export product. Its main importers are China
(60%), Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan,
Germany, USA, and Russia. Rubber cultivation area in
2007 was 480,000 ha, 67% of which was based in the South East. This region is
also the most productive area which yielded 86% of the 468,000 tons of latex
nationwide, according to last year’s figures
Coffee
Coffee owns the seventh highest export quota
which contributes 3.83% to the country’s total figure. In 2007, with 1.194
million tons, Vietnam’s
coffee export ranked second only after Brazil in market share, at 10% as
opposed to 30%; and it even won the first place with Robusta export. Thanks to
favorable natural conditions, Vietnam
has offered its importers with high quality and quite low price coffee.
However, it is no doubt that low price is a disadvantage in itself, which results
from the limitations in planting, harvesting, processing, preserving,
transportation and trade. Currently, the total coffee cultivation area is 500,000 ha, mostly based in Tay Nguyen. The
biggest markets for Vietnam’s
coffee are the EU (52%), the USA
(15%), Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. It is estimated that in
2010, the cultivation area will reduce to 460,000 ha; average productivity will
increase from 1.5 tons/ ha to 2.4 tons/ ha; and the average annual export
quantity will be around 850.000 tons.
In
2007, Vietnam
exported 153,000 tons of cashew kernel, gaining 649 million US dollars in quota.
It has replaced India
to be the largest cashew exporter, both in quality and quantity, with the
average annual development rate of 24.6% during the period 2001-2005. The main
importers of Vietnam’s
cashew include the USA
(34%), China (18%), Australia (12%), Holland
(11%), England, Russia, the Middle East and Japan. To the
end of 2008, about 400,000 ha of land had been used for cashew cultivation,
mostly in South Central Coast
and the South. It is expected that in 2010 the area for cultivation will be expanded
to 450,000 ha and export quota is estimated to reach over 700 million US
dollars a year.
Pepper
Vietnam
has lead the world in pepper export for a long time. Last year, the country
exported nearly 87,000 tons of pepper, a 26% decrease compared to 2006. But as
price doubled, at about 3,200 US dollars/ ton, export quota raised to 282
million dollars, ranking 18th among the highest export quotas of the country. Currently,
Vietnam’s pepper holds half
of the world’s market share and is present in 73 countries such as the USA, the EU and the Middle
East. Statistically, pepper cultivation area is 52,500 ha, mainly
based in the South East, Tay Nguyen and Phu Quoc. The productivity is quite
instant, at 2.3 tons/ ha. To improve pepper quality and raise prices, export
firms are encouraged to further invest into processing and increase the yield
of white pepper.
Tea
Vietnam
ranks seventh among the world’s biggest tea exporters. In 2007, by exporting
114,000 tons, Vietnam’s
tea achieved an export quota of 131 million US dollars. It is now present in
many countries like Pakistan,
India and Russia. Tea is
grown mainly in hilly areas in the midland provinces and mountainous regions in
the North and Central Coast of Vietnam. Among the 15 types of tea produced in
and by Vietnam,
O Long tea, black tea and jasmine tea are the most favored worldwide. However,
up till now, Vietnam
still fails to establish a brand name for its tea; and the tea it has always
exported is only of average quality. Therefore, development goals have been set
up for the year 2010 that besides improving tea quality, it is essential to
expand tea cultivation area to 100,000 ha, increase the yield of dried tea buds
to 150,000 tons, and achieve an export quota of about 370 million US dollars.
Fruits and vegetables
The
export quota of fruits and vegetables last year was 299 million US dollars.
With high potential for development, in recent years, the cultivation area for these
products has largely been expanded, with productivity improved significantly. At
present, the cultivation area is over 650,000 ha with the largest production
areas based in Red River Delta (29% of vegetable production), Mekong River
Delta and Da Lat. The most common Vietnam’s
vegetables for export are onion, garlic, cabbage, mushroom, carrot, green pea,
and cucumber, which are imported into ASEAN countries, East Europe, the EU, the
USA, Japan and Taiwan. Fruit plants cultivation
area has also been expanded to 600,000 ha (2007), with the most important area
situated in Mekong River Delta (30%). The main fruits for export are blue
dragon, coconut, pineapple, jackfruit, longan, litchi, rambutan, and
mango. China
is the largest export market for Vietnam’s fruits. Every year, it imports
80% of fresh fruits from Vietnam,
contributing 50% to the latter’s fruit export quota. In years to come, besides
expanding the cultivation area, improving productivity and quality, and
establishing a brand name for Vietnam’s
fruits will be the priority development strategies for Vietnam
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