At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Agriculture and Development for the first 6 months of 2023 on July 3, 2023, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien announced that the GDP growth rate of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the first 6 months of 2023 year was quite high. reached 3.07%; with agriculture increasing by 3.14%; forestry increased by 3.43%; Seafood rose 2.77%.

HIGHLIGHTS OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT DISBURSEMENT

Mr. Vu Van Viet, director of the planning department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the growth rate of agricultural, forestry and fisheries output value was estimated at 3.1% in the first six months; Agriculture increased by 3.14% (cultivation increased by 2.11%, animal husbandry by 4.88%), forestry by 3.43% and fisheries by 2.96%.

In terms of investment in particular, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has ranked among the top 5 ministries/sectors with the highest public investment disbursement in the country. Total capital plan in 2023 The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will be allocated VND 9.852 billion (domestic capital is VND 8.052 billion, foreign capital is VND 1.800 billion).

As of June 30, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimated the disbursement of VND3,098.3 billion, which is 31.4% of the plan, more than the 26% rate of the first 6 months of 2022. During this period, the achieved domestic capital 32.7% and ODA capital 27%.

By the end of June 2023, there were 6,011/8,177 municipalities across the country, making 73.5% compliant with the new rural standards, an increase of 0.43% compared to the end of 2022, when 1,326 municipalities were compliant with the new rural standards. (up 335 parishes) and 174 parishes to meet the new rural model standard (up 53 parishes).

Referring to exports of agricultural, forestry and fisheries products in the first six months of 2023, Mr. Vu Van Viet said that while sales fell by more than 11% compared to the same period last year, thanks to the proactive removal of barriers to growth exports during this period. Due to the difficult conditions for new orders (especially seafood and forest products) and market barriers, the total export turnover of agricultural, forest and fishery products reached US$24.59 billion in 6 months. The group of agricultural products is the bright spot with an increase of 12% to 12.79 billion US dollars; Animal Products $232 million, up 26.5%…

While exports of agricultural products increased, exports of seafood and forest products decreased. Mr. Trieu Van Luc, deputy director of the Ministry of Forestry, said that the export value of forest products reached about 6.42 billion in the first half of 2023, down 28%. The trade surplus was $5.32 billion, up 70% from the same period last year.

The reason for this is that consumers in the EU and in the USA are increasing their spending, reducing wood products and not further pushing the signing and opening of new orders. The prices of wood chips and pellets fell sharply, the cost of raw materials and production inputs increased due to the impact of conflicts.

In addition, the immediate impact of the investigation of anti-tax evasion, anti-dumping plywood, kitchen cabinets and dressing tables. In addition, companies face difficulties in terms of mechanisms and policies, social security costs and VAT refunds.

VEGETABLES AND RICE POINTS

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), spoke about the bright spots in fruit and vegetables in the 6-month export situation, saying that Vietnam’s vegetables and fruit have a lot of export potential. Not inferior to other countries in the world and can reach sales of USD 10 billion/year in the future.

“Faced with the trend of industrialization and modernization, the area under cultivation will decrease, possibly leading to a decline in fruit and vegetable production. Through a worthwhile investment by the state in the processing stage, it is still possible to increase the value of export sales,” Mr. Cuong said.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, who chaired the press conference, said that with industrial production slashing across the country, even some industries are “paralyzed,” but agricultural production is well maintained. The GDP growth rate of agriculture, forestry and fisheries was quite high in the first six months, reaching 3.07%; with agriculture increasing by 3.14%; forestry increased by 3.43%; Seafood rose 2.77%.

Assessing the picture of agricultural, forestry and fisheries exports, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that while sales have declined compared to the same period last year, analysis of the extractive industry has shown bright spots. Typically, vegetables and fruits are up 64.2%, rice, valued at $2.3 billion, is up 34.7%.

“In the first six months of 2023, fruit and vegetable exports hit $2.75 billion, the highest ever. If we keep this pace for the last 6 months of the year, fruit and vegetable exports are forecast to reach over $5 billion this year. “If we do well in seed production, deep processing and market expansion, we will surely reach US$10 billion in fruit and vegetable exports in the future,” said Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.

In 2022, Vietnam’s rice exports reached 7.13 million tons worth US$3.49 billion. In the first 6 months of 2023, rice exports reached 4.27 million tons worth US$2.3 billion…

“People still believe that in leap years, rice yield will decrease, but this year this situation has not happened because the ministry has learned from experience and guided people in techniques. This year, the rice acreage has declined, but winter-spring crop rice production is still increasing,” said Mr. Phung Duc Tien.

SEIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE THE PLAN

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep – Director of Department of Quality Management, Processing and Market Development of Agricultural Products (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) commented on the export picture in the last 6 months of the year No clear signal of recovery, stocks of both importers and domestic companies are high , demand remains low.

In addition to the fewer export difficulties, the export markets in general and the EU market in particular are also making ever stricter demands.

The EU market is the leading market for world export market regulations, where previously there were food safety regulations, now there are development issues. consistent. We need regulatory guidelines on traceability to meet market demands.

“So, in addition to commercial factors, there are also technical factors that companies need to pay attention to to ensure export markets are expanded, not narrowed,” noted Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep.

With the global and domestic economy continuing to face many difficulties and challenges, the agribusiness is also affected by high prices for manufacturing commodities, sunny El Nino, hotter weather and the risk of water shortages for production.

However, Vice Minister Phung Duc Tien stressed that the whole industry remains committed to seizing opportunities and concentrating resources to achieve the set target of the full-year plan: GDP growth rate of the whole industry 3.0-3.5%, export sales of the agricultural products 54 – 55 billion USD; Forest cover 42%; The rate of communities meeting new rural standards is 78%…

“To reach $55 billion in export sales, export sales growth needs to increase by 7-8% every month. Market promotion solutions are very important for export. It is necessary to implement solutions affecting key export products with high prospect and ability to increase export value to balance these products. It is expected that there is a possibility that it will not meet the export sales target for the full year,” stressed Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.