Over the past 5 years, overcoming the great impact of the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and high freight rates, Vietnam's agricultural, forestry and fishery exports have continuously grown from 41.4 billion USD in 2020 to more than 62 billion USD in 2024. In 2025, agricultural, forestry and fishery exports still have many opportunities and room for growth. This information was given at the "Conference to promote agricultural, forestry and fishery product exports" organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on December 16. The United States is the largest import market for agricultural and forestry products. Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) assessed that 2024 is a breakthrough year for Vietnamese agriculture in both production and export. Production value increased by over 3.2%, and the export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products is estimated to reach over 62 billion USD, an increase of over 18% compared to 2023. In 2024, 11 items will continue to maintain an export turnover value of over 1 billion USD, of which 7 items will reach over 3 billion USD, including: Wood and wood products estimated at 16.1 billion USD; vegetables and fruits estimated at 7.1 billion USD; rice estimated at 5.7 billion USD; coffee estimated at 5.4 billion USD; cashew nuts 4.3 billion USD; shrimp reached 3.8 billion USD; rubber estimated at 3.2 billion USD. In particular, the export of vegetables and fruits, rice, coffee, cashew nuts and pepper all had large growth (coffee increased by 56.9%, pepper increased by 53.3%, rubber increased by 24.6%, rice increased by 10.6%). According to Mr. Hoa, the market share of Vietnam's agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2024 is shifting between countries, with China moving from first place to second place after the United States; some markets have increased market share such as ASEAN, the Middle East, and the EU. Exports to key markets such as China and Japan are still growing, but the growth rate has slowed down over the months. Analyzing the market, Mr. Nguyen Anh Phong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development, said that the United States has surpassed China to become Vietnam's largest import market for agricultural, forestry and fishery products, with a turnover of about 8.7 billion USD, accounting for 25.4% of total export value. According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Phong, the United States will continue to be a key market with a population of over 330 million people and one of the largest economies in the world. In addition, the trade conflict between the United States and China creates conditions for Vietnam to expand exports in 2025. “The United States is a large consumer market for products such as coffee, cashews, pepper, etc., but it does not have the strength to produce. This is also a huge fruit consumption market. The United States still has a lot of room for Vietnamese fruits to expand and develop, especially vegetables, organic foods that are good for health, off-season fruits, tropical fruits with limited domestic production...," said Mr. Nguyen Anh Phong. Make the most of trade agreements Vietnam's agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2025 are forecast to have many growth opportunities. Mr. Ngo Hong Phong, Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, said that domestic production remains stable, and it is forecasted that agricultural products can still achieve good growth in the first quarter of 2025. The world's demand for food imports is forecast to increase due to supply disruptions in many countries affected by armed conflicts and trade competition between major countries. Bringing raw shrimp into the shrimp processing line for export. (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA) In particular, agricultural, forestry and fishery exports still have much room for growth as Vietnam has great opportunities to expand its export markets to potential regions when the Vietnam-UAE Free Trade Agreement (CEPA) is implemented in 2025 and Vietnam's role in ASEAN is increasingly enhanced. Vietnam has also signed more protocols with China, opening the market for new products such as frozen durian, fresh coconut, and farmed crocodile in 2025. Despite many opportunities, Mr. Ngo Hong Phong also noted that agricultural, forestry and fishery exports will also face many new challenges. The results of the US presidential election in early November 2024 may result in many major macro-policy changes that will impact the global economy and Vietnam in 2025, such as currency, taxes, trade barriers, etc. Increasingly high technical regulations and requirements for sustainable green development are being placed on many countries exporting agricultural, forestry and fishery products, including Vietnam. To take advantage of opportunities, Mr. Ngo Hong Phong emphasized the need to focus on removing barriers and opening export markets, paying attention to new markets with great potential such as Halal Muslim countries, the Middle East, Africa..., and actively implementing solutions to request the EU to remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood. “We need to focus on building standards on production, processing and product quality in line with the requirements of international economic integration to enhance the competitiveness and value of Vietnamese agricultural products; make the most of incentives from trade agreements, protect brands and products in traditional markets and expand market share in potential markets," said Mr. Ngo Hong Phong./.