Hanoi (VNA) - Exports ofagro-forestry-fisheries products were worth 26.1 billion USD in the first eightmonths of 2020, a fall of 0.9 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development (MARD) has reported.

Imports of agro-forestry-fisheries products in theperiod, meanwhile, totalled 19.9 billion USD, resulting in a surplus of about6.2 billion USD, up 4.9 percent over the same period of 2019.

The US became the largest market for the sector in theperiod, consuming over 6.3 billion USD worth of products, up 14.2 percent year-on-yearand accounting for 24.13 percent of total export value. It was followed byChina, with 6.28 billion USD, down 10.1 percent and accounting for 24 percentof the total.

Export revenue in the EU market was about 2.5 billionUSD, down 2.2 percent, while in ASEAN it was 2.24 billion USD and Japan 2.2billion USD, down 11.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Despite the fall in export revenue for many products, increaseswere still seen in the export of rice (10.4 percent to 2.2 billion USD), vegetables(12.8 percent to 487 million USD), cassava (nearly 95 percent to 108 millionUSD), shrimp (11.4 percent to nearly 2.4 billion USD), and wood and woodenfurniture (9.6 percent to 7.3 billion USD).

Products that saw sharp falls in export value includedrubber, down nearly 13 percent, peppercorn 20 percent, fruit nearly 18 percent,and tra fish 26 percent.

In August alone, agro-forestry-fisheries products broughthome 3.6 billion USD, up 3.5 percent against July.

MARD said it has coordinated with other ministries,sectors, localities, and businesses to remove difficulties and promote exportsamid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will update exporters on new regulations and marketdevelopments overseas, especially in China, while dealing with technicalbarriers and expanding markets in China, the EU, the Eurasian Economic Union, the US, and Brazil. The ministry also plans tosend working teams to China, Brazil, Russia, Japan, and Australia when thepandemic is over./.