According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first 5 months of 2026 reached about 30.69 billion USD, an increase of 9.2% compared to the same period last year. The whole industry had a trade surplus of 8.41 billion USD. These figures show that the agricultural sector continues to affirm its role as a pillar of the economy.
A noteworthy point is that export growth, besides traditional goods, also appears in product groups with higher added value.
The major advantage today is that Vietnam has a wide network of free trade agreements, creating conditions for agricultural, forestry and fishery products to access many large markets. Many businesses have been more proactive in exploiting the market, improving product quality, meeting regulations on traceability, food safety, and certification of growing and farming areas.
However, according to experts' assessment, along with the challenges, the world market still contains many risks. Fluctuations in trade policy, tariffs, technical barriers, regulations on environment, labor, carbon emissions, anti-illegal mining... will increasingly directly impact exports.
Challenges also lie within the industry. Agricultural production in many places is still fragmented, chain links are not tight, deep processing capacity is not uniform, and the national brand for many products is still weak. Logistics, preservation, cold storage, and international transportation costs are still high, reducing the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods.
To ensure sustainable growth, the agricultural sector needs to continue to diversify export markets, avoiding excessive dependence on a few markets. At the same time, strongly improve the traceability system.
In addition, Vietnamese agriculture continues to strongly shift to processed products, branded products, products meeting green standards, organic products, and products meeting new consumption trends.
Agriculture continues to be the pillar of the economy with increasingly modern, greener, more transparent and higher value requirements. That is the path for Vietnamese agriculture, forestry and fishery not only to grow in turnover, but also to enhance its position in the world market.
