“The export of veggies and fruits to the US has been extremely favorable to date,” Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of Vina T&T Group, said when talking about his business performance in the last seven months.

The US is listed among choosy markets which sets high requirements on goods quality and food safety. To date, only a few kinds of veggies and fruits have received a ‘visa’ to enter the market. In the first half 2024, because of the Red Sea tensions, it was difficult to ship goods to the US, and the freight price soared.

However, the company’s export turnover from the US in the first seven months still increased sharply by 26 percent. He revealed that the US market brings 50 percent of the company’s total revenue.

Not only Vina T&T Group, but many other agriculture, forestry and seafood companies have also reported satisfactory exports to the US.

The leader of a wooden furniture company in Binh Duong said this time last year orders from the US dropped dramatically. But orders came in the first last months this year, which brought a 50 percent growth rate from the US compared with the same period last year.

“The growth is expected to be better towards the year end, because the last months of the year are the high sale season as Americans make more purchases and re-decorate their homes to celebrate New Year and attend festivals,” he said.

Vinh Hoan Seafood JSC reported that in July alone, the company saw turnover of VND1.12 trillion, up 30 percent over July 2023. The US brought the highest turnover to Vinh Hoan (VND384 billion), a sharp rise of 92 percent over the same period last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported that by the end of July, the US was the largest consumer of Vietnam’s agriculture, forestry and seafood products with export turnover of $7.23 billion, an increase of 21.6 percent over the same period last year. The US market consumed 21.1 percent of total export turnover of the entire agriculture sector in the last seven months.

Vietnam’s woodwork exports to the US reached $4.9 billion in the first seven months, an increase of $1 billion, or 26 percent. At present, the US is the biggest client which consumes 55 percent of Vietnam’s total woodwork export turnover.

The seafood exports to the US market has also recovered, bringing turnover of $964 million, up 12.8 percent. Vegetable, cashew nut and rubber exports saw high growth rates of 34.8 percent, 23.9 percent and 37.6 percent, respectively.

Analysts noted that tea and pepper were the two products with highest growth rate in the first seven months of the year, 73.7 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Only rice and coffee witnessed slight growth rates of 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Tung of T&T believes that Vietnam’s farm exports in general and fruit exports in particular in the upcoming months will maintain high growth rates.

“The last months of the year is the high shopping season, when Americans spend more money. Also, the sea freight would be better,” he explained.

Earlier this year, the freight to carry one container of goods to the US by sea was just $3,000. In June, the figure rose to $8,000. But in July, it decreased to $6,000.

“The freight decrease will ease the burden on Vietnam’s export companies,” he said.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) also is optimistic about exports in the time to come. The US economy has shown positive signs. The inflation rate in the US has decreased rapidly from 9 percent to 3 percent, while the central bank is likely to cut interest rates to stimulate demand, which means a good opportunity to increase consumption of seafood.

Vietnam’s seafood exports, especially catfish, are believed to see a strong recovery in the last months of the year, when the inventory level in the US decreases. Retailers in the US will need to increase their inventories before the year-end festival season. The POR19 anti-dumping duties on Vietnam’s catfish exports are low.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, if the US cuts interest rates, thus stimulating demand, this would bring benefits to exporters, including Vietnam.

Tam An