On May 13, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a meeting of the working group for April to deploy key tasks for May and the second quarter of 2025.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister Do Duc Duy informed that after suffering heavy damage from Typhoon Yagi at the end of last year, the industry has made a strong recovery. GDP in the first quarter reached 3.4%, the highest level in the same period since 2019.
Agriculture, animal husbandry, and aquaculture have all improved, of which aquaculture recorded outstanding growth. Export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first 4 months of the year reached 21.25 billion USD.
The Minister said that if this growth momentum is maintained and customs problems with the United States are resolved soon, the export target of 65 billion USD and industry growth of about 4% this year will be completely feasible.
Durian exports stagnate
Despite many positive results, the Minister stated that it is impossible to be subjective, because the world situation still has many potential risks from trade competition, conflicts of interest, and market fluctuations.
In the country, two urgent issues have arisen. First of all, inspection problems have caused durian exports, which reached 3.2 billion USD in 2024, to show signs of stagnation, currently only reaching 20% of the 2025 plan.
In addition, pests and diseases on crops and livestock are complicated. Prolonged dry weather has caused difficulties in many localities. In Bac Giang, the fabric growing area has only had one rain in the past month, with scarce irrigation water, affecting production.
The process of reorganizing local government is also affecting the implementation of the sector's tasks, especially site clearance for irrigation projects.
Public investment disbursement and administrative reform have changed positively
In the field of public investment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has allocated VND 20,786 billion to projects. As of May 5, 2025, the disbursement rate reached 16.3%, higher than the national average of 15.56%, showing determination and close direction in implementing this key task.
Along with that, the work of reforming administrative procedures also recorded many positive results. The Ministry's functional units have received and processed 346,437 dossiers, with a completion rate of 97.6%. In particular, up to 99.8% of records were processed on time, showing that the public administration system is operating more and more effectively, creating maximum convenience for people and businesses.
Regarding the implementation of Decree No. 35/2025/ND-CP of the Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has completed the consolidation of leadership positions, promulgated functions, tasks and organizational structure of 30 affiliated units.
Notably, the new organizational structure has decreased by 24,19% compared to before, towards a streamlined and efficient management model. The arrangement is carried out synchronously with stabilizing facilities at the head office and affiliated units, without interrupting production and business activities or affecting people's lives.
Key tasks in the coming time
In the coming time, the industry will identify a series of key tasks to strengthen growth momentum and flexibly adapt to new situations. Institutional construction tasks are being accelerated, in which priority is given to completing legal documents to serve the implementation of the two-level local government model, ensuring completion before June 30, 2025.
The Ministry is also actively implementing plans to implement Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation, and Resolution 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new period.
At the same time, the review, amendment and integration of the contents of Plan 503/QD-BNNMT will be carried out to ensure consistency with new resolutions and decrees of the Government.
In the context of the US applying a countervailing tax policy on imported goods from Vietnam, the Ministry will closely monitor the situation, proactively propose response solutions and carefully prepare content to serve the Government negotiation Team.
