Several Product Groups Maintain Growth Momentum
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reported that, in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2026, agricultural, forestry, and fishery production continued to maintain positive growth momentum amid ongoing volatility in international markets, particularly in raw material and fuel prices and consumer demand. Agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports in September are estimated at US$6.51 billion, up 5.7% year-on-year.
In the first nine months, agricultural exports reached US$29.28 billion, up 3.1%; livestock exports reached US$564.4 million, up 24.6%; fishery exports reached US$9.17 billion, up 12.3%; and forestry exports reached nearly US$14.41 billion, up 7.6%. Notably, production inputs reached US$2.86 billion, surging 58.2%, while salt exports reached US$11.3 million, up 35.1%.
By market, Asia continued to be the largest export region for Vietnam’s key agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, accounting for 49.4% of the market share. The Americas followed with 22.2%, while Europe accounted for 13.5%.
Compared with the same period last year, exports to Asia increased by 11.9%; the Americas by 2.3%; Europe by 2.6%; and Oceania by 15.5%. In contrast, exports to Africa fell by 16.7%, indicating uneven purchasing power and market penetration across regions.
At the individual market level, China, the United States, and Japan remain the three largest destinations, accounting for market shares of 24.4%, 19.8%, and 7.4%, respectively. In the first nine months, exports to China surged by 18.9%, while shipments to the U.S. and Japan rose by 1.2% and 4.9%, respectively.
Clear Divergence Across Product Groups
The nine-month export picture shows that some sectors continued to expand in both volume and value, while others faced pressure from prices and market conditions.
Fruit and vegetable exports were among the bright spots, with nine-month export value reaching nearly US$7.35 billion, up 19.9% year-on-year. China remained the key market, accounting for 63% of total fruit and vegetable export value, followed by the United States and South Korea. In the first eight months alone, fruit and vegetable exports to China increased by 38.8%.
Seafood exports also maintained double-digit growth, reaching US$9.17 billion after nine months, up 12.3%. China, the United States, and Japan were the three largest consumer markets. Notably, seafood exports to China rose 33.9% in the first eight months.

The frozen shrimp processing production line at Minh Phu seafood factory. Photo: An Thu.

Wood and wood products reached nearly US$13.43 billion, up 7.3%. The United States remained the largest market, accounting for 50.1%, but export value to this market fell 4.6% in the first eight months. Meanwhile, exports to China increased by 43.4%, while those to Japan rose 5.3%.
In contrast, some sectors came under greater pressure.
Coffee exports in the first nine months reached US$6.54 billion, up 15.4% in volume but down 7.3% in value, as the average export price fell 19.7%. Rubber exports declined 16.2% in volume and 4.4% in value, despite a 14.1% increase in the average export price. Rice exports reached US$3.11 billion, down 10.9% in value.
These developments show that export value growth depends not only on output but is also significantly affected by commodity prices and developments in individual markets. In the case of coffee, for example, export volume increased while export value declined due to a sharp drop in the average price.
Focusing on Remaining Potential in the Fourth Quarter
On the import side, Vietnam imported approximately US$39.4 billion worth of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products in the first nine months of the year, up 8% year-on-year. Combined with export turnover of US$56.3 billion, the agricultural, forestry, and fishery sector recorded a trade surplus of US$16.9 billion in the first nine months, up 7.4% year-on-year. The US$16.9 billion trade surplus highlights that the sector's role lies not only in export scale but also in its ability to generate a trade surplus.
Nguyen Xuan Chinh, Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said that from now through the end of 2026, the sector will focus on growth, import-export, and public investment disbursement targets.
For production and agricultural exports, management and policy implementation must remain closely aligned with developments on the ground amid unpredictable weather conditions and increasingly stringent market requirements for technical standards, food safety, quarantine, traceability, environmental protection, and sustainable development.
According to Nguyen Xuan Chinh, achieving the US$74 billion export target requires a focus on product quality, deeper processing, brand development, organization of raw material production areas, and compliance with the standards of importing markets. At the same time, the sector will continue to maintain traditional markets and accelerate negotiations to open new markets.
In the fourth quarter, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has set a target of 4% sector-wide GDP growth, agricultural, forestry, and fishery export turnover of at least US$74 billion, and 100% disbursement of public investment.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep also said the ministry will step up negotiations to open export markets for agricultural products; develop a Vietnamese agricultural product industry branding strategy for 2026–2035; complete the fisheries vessel management database and strengthen efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; while improving forecasting and early warning capabilities and proactively responding to extreme weather and the El Niño phenomenon during 2026–2027.

Source https://thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn/