According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, five-month imports reached an estimated US$22.28 billion, up 12.6% from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus of US$8.41 billion, an increase of 1.1%.
By product category, agricultural exports totaled US$16.38 billion, up 6.1%; forestry products generated US$7.65 billion, up 4.5%; and fishery exports brought back US$4.65 billion, up 10.6%.
Notably, livestock product exports surged 43.2% to US$308 million, while exports of agricultural production inputs rose 83% to US$1.7 billion. Salt exports also posted strong growth, increasing 45.8% to US$6.7 million.
Exports to major markets continued to record positive growth. China remained Vietnam's largest market, accounting for 20.5% of total export turnover, with shipments rising 28.4% year on year. The United States ranked second with an 18.5% share, although export value to the market declined 3.6%.
Exports to the European Union accounted for 11.8% of total turnover and increased 4.2% from a year earlier, while exports to Japan represented 6.8% of the total and rose 3.5%.
Meanwhile, the ministry said agro-forestry-fishery output stayed stable and continued to deliver positive results during the first five months of the year, helping maintain supply-demand balance and meet domestic food consumption needs as well as export demand.
Favorable production conditions and positive market prospects across several sectors are expected to support the agriculture sector's efforts to achieve its growth targets for 2026.
The ministry said its agencies will continue to closely monitor developments in international trade, support businesses and farmers in capitalising on export opportunities, safeguard national food security, expand market access, develop markets for agricultural by-products, and effectively implement traceability systems for agro-forestry-fishery products to meet increasingly stringent requirements from importing countries.
