This plan is based on a projection that total export turnover for the second half of the year will reach USD 31.6 billion, down 4.8% year-on-year, with an estimated loss of USD 1.6 billion if current retaliatory tariffs remain in place. In the first half of the year, export value was estimated at USD 33.5 billion and imports at USD 23.5 billion, representing year-on-year increases of 14.3% and 23.5%, respectively.
The ministry has outlined a roadmap: total exports should exceed USD 17 billion in Q2, reach USD 14–15 billion or more in Q3, and surpass USD 16 billion in Q4.
A farmer in Nga Nam town (Soc Trang) harvesting winter-spring rice. Taken on March 10, 2020. Credit: Nguyet Nhi.
To meet the 2025 target, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment calls for the maximum use of the current tax deferral period, balancing the trade deficit with the US market, seizing short-term export opportunities in Q2 and early Q3, and maximizing export value in the second half of the year.
Forestry products, especially wood and wood-based goods, face the greatest pressure from US tariffs due to their large market share (67% of total export turnover). The 2025 export goal is USD 18.5 billion, a 7% increase over 2024 (with USD 8.4 billion in the first half and USD 10.1 billion in the second half).
The ministry recommends that businesses continue to identify and maintain product lines suitable for export to the US. To help reduce the trade imbalance, companies are also encouraged to increase imports of logs, sawn timber, and wood materials from the US.
At the same time, businesses should expand exports to Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the Middle East—markets with strong resort development potential—to offset the decline in major markets. Participation in international trade fairs should also be enhanced to promote products directly to these markets.
For fisheries, which face the second-greatest pressure from US tariffs, the 2025 export goal is USD 10.5 billion, up 4.3% from 2024, with USD 5.4 billion expected in the second half of the year.
The ministry notes that retaliatory tariffs have had a significant impact on the fisheries sector, especially compared to competitors like India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Ecuador. In addition, consumer demand—particularly for shrimp and salmon—has shown a downward trend in early 2025.
Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment proposes boosting pangasius exports, maintaining market share, and expanding sales of fresh seafood to China.
In addition to forestry and fisheries, to achieve the USD 65 billion target, the ministry has also outlined measures to promote exports of key agricultural products such as coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, tea, and rubber.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect marine ecosystems, expand digital monitoring, and develop science-based management to ensure the sea can support communities and the economy for generations to come.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU remains a critical market for Vietnamese shrimp; however, purchasing demand and import patterns are undergoing notable changes. According to Vietnam Customs data, as of September 15, 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU reached nearly $374 million, down 5% year-over-year and accounting for 10.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile, the EU’s stotal shrimp imports through July 2026 contracted by 7% in volume, exhibiting divergent trends across Southern Europe, Northwestern Europe and Eastern Europe. These dynamics necessitate that Vietnamese enterprises closely monitor individualized market demand, rather than approaching the EU as a monolithic consumer block.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of surimi and fish cakes remained relatively stable year-over-year compared to 2025. Following a contraction in the initial months, export performance demonstrated improvement from June onward, peaking in August. However, the recovery has been uneven, characterized by divergent trends across major markets: robust growth was recorded in China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Taiwan, whereas export volumes to South Korea, Indonesia, and select European markets contracted.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius remains one of Dong Thap’s key aquaculture species, with the province focusing on developing an integrated value chain covering seed production, commercial farming, deep processing and by-product utilization. The province is promoting high-tech, circular pangasius farming models featuring reduced water exchange and enhanced biosecurity, aiming to improve production efficiency and strengthen control over raw material quality.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in September 2026 are estimated at US$1.135 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, bringing total exports in the first nine months of the year to US$9.103 billion, up 11.4%. Behind this double-digit growth, however, increasingly divergent market trends are emerging: China–Hong Kong and ASEAN posted strong growth, while the U.S., EU and Japan all recorded declines in September.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil became the largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, with export value reaching US$44 million, up 22,142% year-on-year and accounting for 49% of Vietnam’s total tilapia exports. In August alone, exports to Brazil reached US$4 million. However, behind this remarkable growth is a market that is imposing increasingly stringent requirements on imported supplies.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports sustained their upward trajectory in August 2026, though the pace remained modest at just 2%. The month saw divergent trends across key markets: the US maintained its leading position, Japan and Canada improved, Russia surged and the EU continued to experience a steep downturn. These developments suggest that exporters are entering the final months of the year amid a market environment marked by greater uncertainty.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Congalsa has acquired the entire charter capital of Lenger Seafood Vietnam, giving it full ownership of the business and its Nam Dinh processing facility.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ninh Binh Province is entering a peak period of action against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, focusing on thoroughly addressing violations, closely monitoring fishing vessels at ports and preventing vessels from violating regulations and operating illegally in foreign waters ahead of the European Commission’s (EC) upcoming inspection in 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) The application of biotechnology in seed production is increasingly viewed as a strategic imperative to upgrade pangasius fingerling quality, optimize farming efficiency and anchor sustainable industry development.
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