According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, major farming produce shipped overseas brought home US$1.16 billion in revenue, up 2.8% year on year. 

Rice export saw the highest growth with 495,000 tonnes sold at US$218 million, increasing 56.7% in quantity and 46% in value from the same period in 2015. 

Likewise, overseas shipments of 24,000 tonnes of cashew earned US$183 million, annual gains of 9% and 15.6% in quantity and value respectively. 

Rice products ​are loaded on board before being shipped abroad. (Photo: VNA)   

The volume of peppercorn exports fell by 30.2% to an estimated 7,000 tonnes, compared to 2015. As such, its revenue was recorded at US$67 million, down 31.5% year on year. 

The value of exported coffee and rubber products continued to drop despite higher amount shipped abroad. While overall export turnover of agricultural produce rose, the figures for forestry and fishery products followed the opposite trend. 

Aquacultural exports were approximately US$455 million, a decline of 8.8% from 2015. Forestry goods, meanwhile, recorded an export revenue of almost US$520 million, decreasing 15.1% annually. 

In 2015, agro-forestry-fishery export revenue amounted to US$30.45 billion, representing a mere 0.2% higher than the figure for 2014.