Vietnam’s agricultural and forestry exports reached a value of 3.7 billion USD in the first five months of this year, 29 percent higher than the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of the five-month total, the value of agricultural product exports reached 2.7 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 32 percent, and forest product exports were worth 1 billion USD, an increase of 21 percent.

The increase came from a solid growth of pepper, coffee and wooden product exports, the ministry said.

In May, the export value of the country’s agricultural and forest products was 765 million USD, 20 percent higher than last May, including 546 million USD from agricultural exports and 203 million USD from forest product exports.

The ministry said that coffee accounted for the largest portion of the total export value of agricultural products at 42 percent, with a value of 1.1 billion USD in the first five months of this year.

Coffee is the first agricultural product to reach an export value of more than 1 billion USD.

The strong growth in coffee exports was due to the high and rising price of coffee, especially at the end of May.

The export value of rubber, cashews and pepper also rose in the first five months of this year compared with the same period last year, 433 million USD for rubber, up 8 percent; 197 million USD for cashews, up 12.5 percent; and 110 million USD for pepper, up 27 percent.

Meanwhile, the export of rice –usually a strategic agricultural export for Vietnam – declined in value and volume in the first five months.

The decline resulted from difficulties in leasing ships for transporting rice, an increase in freight charges and bad weather hindering the loading of rice bags onto ships.

Rice exports were 1.8 million tonnes and valued at 580 million USD to the end of May, a decline of 21 percent in volume and 8 percent in value from the same period last year.

The country exported 38,000 tonnes of tea, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent, valued at 35 million USD, up 8 percent.