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Price of key exports drop
The price of agricultural exports such as coffee, tea, pepper and cashews was about 30 per cent less in January than the same period last year.
Vietnamese exports have been hit hard by the world recession, and importers are also importing a fraction of the previous volume, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Before Tet, the price of coffee, for example, decreased from VND26,400 (US$1.5) to VND25,600 ($1.4) per kilo.
Prices for seafood exports face a similar situation, but are having additional trouble because Russia, a major customer, stopped importing tra and basa catfish from Viet Nam in mid-December 2008 due to product quality issues.
Processed goods such as garments, footwear, electronics, wood and plastics have seen reductions in export turnover by 20-30 per cent.
In the first month of this year, export turnover of agriculture, forestry and marine products reached $1.1 billion, 12 per cent less than January 2008, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Export revenues for the three sectors were $580 million, $250 million and $270 million respectively.
Rice is one of the few goods to buck current trends, with demand and the price increasing. Rice export prices started increasing mid-December 2008 from $410 per tonne and are now about $430 per tonne. Rice exports soared last month to 300,000 tonnes valued at $130 million, 2.5 times higher than the same period last year on rising demand from countries stockpiling in preparation for deepening recession.
VietNamNet, VNS
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