Agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports in the first nine months reach $52.31 billion

On the morning of October 17, Acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang chaired the September, third-quarter review and the fourth-quarter 2025 task deployment meeting. Deputy Ministers Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa, Le Cong Thanh, Hoang Trung, and Vo Van Hung attended and directed the conference.

According to the report, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment made great efforts in leadership, management, and implementation across all areas in September and the third quarter of 2025. Following the orientations of the Politburo, the Party Secretariat, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister, the Ministry implemented a series of key and timely solutions to address emerging issues, thereby helping to maintain stable production and ensure progress toward the 2025 goals.

The first Party Congress milestone

In the third quarter, the Ministry also established 10 working groups led by deputy ministers to work directly with localities to resolve difficulties in implementing the two-tier local government model. It also assigned 34 officials from the Department of Land Management to 34 provinces and organized 20 meetings with 24 localities to provide guidance and promptly address emerging issues. The Ministry also issued a Handbook and several documents to assist local authorities in implementing the new model effectively and consistently.

Institutional development and improvement of the legal framework continued to be a priority. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, the Ministry submitted 4 decrees and 2 resolutions to the Government and issued 24 circulars. Since the beginning of the year, it has completed 16 decrees, 2 resolutions, 2 draft laws, 2 Prime Minister decisions, and 63 circulars. These documents focus on resolving obstacles in land, geology, mineral management, and the enforcement of the Land Law.

The Ministry has essentially completed all documents for the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly, including the draft Law amending and supplementing several articles of 15 laws related to agriculture and the environment, as well as the amended Law on Geology and Minerals. It also submitted a report to the Government proposing an investment policy for the National Target Program on New Rural Development and Sustainable Poverty Reduction for 2026–2035, which is currently under review by the State Appraisal Council. In addition, the Minister, on behalf of the Government, signed four reports submitted to the National Assembly and fully responded to voter recommendations sent before and after the 9th session.

AFF exports exceed targets

Despite the impacts of natural disasters and epidemics, especially African swine fever and storms in the Northern and North Central regions, agricultural production remained stable. The added value of the agricultural, forestry, and fishery (AFF) sector in the third quarter reached 3.74%, contributing 5.04% to the country’s GDP growth. Over the nine months, it rose by 3.83%, contributing 5.36% to overall economic growth.

AFF's export value in the third quarter reached USD 18.47 billion, bringing the total for the first nine months to USD 52.31 billion, a 14% year-over-year increase and exceeding the target by 8.7%. Of this total, agricultural products reached USD 28.51 billion, up 16.8%; livestock products reached USD 447.5 million, up 18.6%; fishery products reached USD 8.12 billion, up 12.3%; and forestry products reached USD 13.41 billion, up 7.4%.

On the import side, AFF imports in nine months reached USD 36.38 billion, up 12.5%, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 15.93 billion, up 17.6%, accounting for 92.8% of the nation’s total trade surplus.

Key tasks for the fourth quarter of 2025

In the final months of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment aims to focus on 14 key tasks:

- Finalize laws and regulations, coordinating with the National Assembly and the Government to complete 2 draft laws, 1 resolution, and submit 8 legal documents in October 2025.

- Continue to address decentralization and delegation issues in the two-tier local government model.

- Restructure enterprises and public units under the Ministry in line with the Central Steering Committee’s Resolution 18-NQ/TW.

Accelerate the implementation of the Politburo’s “four pillar resolutions,” cut and simplify administrative procedures, and expand full-process online public services.

Strengthen financial discipline, speed up public investment disbursement, and strive for 100% disbursement of the 2025 capital plan.

- Implement the land data cleanup campaign under Plan 515/KH-BCA-BNN&MT.

- Ensure national food security and effectively implement the 1-million-hectare high-quality, low-emission rice program in the Mekong Delta.

- Monitor, forecast, and respond to natural disasters, reinforcing irrigation and dam systems to ensure safety during the rainy season.

- Resolutely address the IUU “yellow card,” preparing for the EC inspection mission in October 2025.

- Complete the national geospatial database and promote the use of remote sensing in resource management.

- Strengthen forest planting and protection, and inspect forest fire prevention in high-risk provinces.

- Review food safety policies, improve agricultural logistics infrastructure, and develop product branding.

- Prepare to organize the 1st National Emulation Congress of the sector toward the 11th National Emulation Congress and the 80th Anniversary of the sector in November 2025.

- Fully implement state management duties according to the 2025 work program.

With a proactive and innovative spirit, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is committed to comprehensively achieving the 2025 targets, thereby contributing to the development of a modern agricultural sector, a green economy, and a balanced approach to growth, the environment, and people’s livelihoods.

Proactive disaster response, ensuring production

In the third quarter, Vietnam experienced 11 storms, including storms No. 3, 5, 9, 10, and 11, which caused severe damage to the Northern and North Central provinces. The Ministry issued a series of official dispatches and directives to localities to ensure proactive disaster response, while coordinating recovery efforts to help people stabilize their lives and restore production.