The list includes rice, coffee, rubber, cashew nuts, pepper, tea, vegetables and fruit, cassava and cassava products, pork, meat and eggs, tra fish, shrimp, wood and wood products.
MARD said that many countries had identified their key agricultural products in order to encourage their development, but so far there hadn’t been a unified set of indicators to identify key agricultural products among countries.
Each country will select their key agricultural products based on their own natural and socio-economic conditions as well as their political and social security objectives.
According to MARD, there are four main groups of criteria that most countries use to identify their key agricultural products, including economic criteria, social criteria, environmental criteria, and the criteria of products prioritised for development.
The ministry said the promulgation of the list aimed to encourage investment into agriculture to improve product quality and competitiveness.
Earlier, the ministry drafted a decree proposing 15 key agricultural products including the 13 mentioned above, as well as beef and ginseng.
Vietnam now ranks second in Southeast Asia in exporting agricultural products.
Last year, the country’s export revenues of agricultural products hit a record high of 40.02 billion USD – the highest growth rate over the past seven years.
Specifically, the gross domestic product (GDP) of agriculture, forestry and fishery expanded by 3.76 percent while the production value increased by 3.86 percent. Of which, the export value of the key agricultural products had been on the rise, contributing to the high growth rate.
The 10 commodity groups with export turnover of over 1 billion USD continued to be maintained, of which five items posted a revenue of more than 3 billion USD, including wood and wood products (8.86 billion USD), shrimp (3.59 billion USD), fruit and vegetable (3.81 billion USD), coffee (3.46 billion USD) and cashew nuts (3.43 billion USD).
The sector’s trade surplus increased from 7 billion USD in 2015 to 8.5 billion USD in 2017 and 8.72 billion USD in 2018, contributing sharply to balancing the country’s foreign currency reserves.
The global agricultural market in 2018 recorded a sharp decline in prices of industrial crops in the context of fierce competition among exporting countries, causing a rapid increase in supply while world demand decreased or increased slowly. Specifically, commodities seeing declines included coffee, rubber, pepper and cashew nuts. However, Vietnam still maintained a high export value thank to increasing export volume despite falling prices.
The export value of key agricultural products had been increased including rice, vegetables, tra fish, wood and forest products.
According to minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, the achievements were partly due to restructuring the sector, organising production by chain and bringing high technologies into production, especially key agricultural products.
The whole sector would strive to achieve a GDP growth rate of over 3 percent, an increase of over 3.11 percent in the production value and an export turnover of about 42-43 billion USD, he said.
To reach the targets, the ministry would continue to restructure the sector and boost production and processing, develop the consumption market for farm produce, and promote sustainable growth.
It would also develop the consumption market in the country as well as the export markets, actively implement trade promotion and effectively tap into the opportunities of free trade agreements (FTAs).
VNS/VNA
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has signed Decision No. 16/QD-TTg, dated January 5, 2026, approving the implementation plan for the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Under the plan, in the coming period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated entities and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must institutionalize and execute tasks focused on the dissemination of information regarding VIFTA and the Israeli market; legislative and institutional development, as well as enhancing competitiveness and human resource growth...
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Beyond achieving double-digit growth, Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi exports are showing a notable year-end "inflection point": the EU his accelerating with nearly twofold growth, China & Hong Kong are rising sharply, while the largest market, South Korea, signaled a slowdown in November. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover of fish cake and surimi reached $327 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up 22% year-on-year; November 2025 alone accounted for $35 million, marking a 5% increase. This serves as a critical foundation for exporters to reassess market structures and competitive intensity while finalizing order strategies for 2026.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ca Mau, widely regarded as the nation’s “shrimp capital”, continued its strong performance in 2025 as shrimp output reached nearly 600,000 tons, maintaining its position as Vietnam’s leading shrimp-producing locality.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 29, 2025, at the 2025 Pangasius Industry Review Conference held in Can Tho City, the Vietnam Pangasius Association announced that fingerling prices have surged to record levels due to acute supply shortages.
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