The total agriculture, fishery and forestry exports turnover in Vietnam reached US $36 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent  and is expected to reach US $40 billion this year in which US $4.5 billion will account for the strong performance of exports of vegetables and fruits. In 2017, exports of fruits and vegetables (with mangoes and dragon fruits overtaking as the major exported products) which grew by 40.5%, totaled to US $3.45 billion, into Vietnam’s biggest markets of China, Japan, US and South Korea.

Vietnam is now gradually increasing its exports into Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Forestry and seafood exports to North America reached US $16 billion in 2017 in total value. In the same year, Vietnam exported 353,000 tonnes of cashew nuts overseas to US, Netherlands and China, which accounted for an overwhelming export value of US $3.52 billion. Despite other countries’ effort into producing high quality cashews using advanced technology, experts suggest that the country could become the world’s main processing hub for the global market due to its steady quality output and efficiency.

In the Mekong Delta, the largest agricultural sector in the country, farming still faces issues with poor harvesting technology, increased competition and lack of linkage between farmers and export businesses. The government has signed agreements and partnerships with countries including Singapore with which Vietnam will adapt new agricultural practices to improve its crops productivity and quality and to expand its livestock export industry. Last year, Vietnam exported its first batch of poultry to Japan. More plans to expand the export of pork are being processed by the Ministry of Foreign Agriculture and Rural Development, but the government is now in the proceeding to ensure that livestock exports are processed to meet globally standardized procedures and regulations.

The country will be pairing up with Singapore, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands to promote and revamp its agricultural policies and technology this year. Secretary General of Singapore Manufacturing Federation described Vietnam as a major market with the potential of being South East Asia’s agricultural and food industry hub. In turn, Singapore can provide the support in technology, supply chains and logistics for Vietnam.

Besides partnering with multiple countries for partnership relationships to increase its exports, Vietnam’s national banks, Arigbank, BIDV, Vietcombank and Vietinbank have implemented new subsidiary policies as an effort to support individuals and organizations to transform the agricultural sector. The new subsidiary policies will allow Vietnam’s production sector to improve its quality to meet supply requirements, hygiene and standards worldwide in order to become a leader in agricultural exports compared to its neighboring countries.