Reason for the highest GDP growth of agriculture in 13 years?

In the first quarter of 2018, while the cultivation sector has shown many bright signals contributing to the GDP growth rate of 4.05% of agriculture, forestry and fishery products has shown a recession with a growth rate lower than the assigned plan.

The export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in the first quarter increased by 9% over the same period last year.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), in the first quarter of 2018, the GDP growth rate of agriculture, forestry and fishery rose by 4.05%, the highest rate in 13 years.

According to the report from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in the first three months of 2018, the total export turnover of agriculture, forestry and fishery was estimated at US$ 8.7 billion, up 9.6% against same period last year and reaching 21.4% of the target in 2018.

A representative from MARD said that cultivation has shown many bright signals, contributing with a high growth rate of 5.16%, thereby creating motivation for the sector to gain a high growth rate in the first quarter.

Specifically about rice product, at the end of the first quarter the country’s rice output was estimated at about 11.18 million tons, up 571.600 tons over the same period last year (a increase of 5.4%). Notably, the export price of rice tends to increase thanks to the quality of Vietnam rice (in 2017, in the structure of exported rice, 81% was high quality rice). It is forecast that Vietnam will be able to export 6.5 million tons of rice this year.

Along with rice, some perennial industrial plants and fruit trees have been harvested and produced a higher productivity than last year. Specifically, the cashew was estimated at 201,000 tons, up 30%; pepper was estimated at 76.300 tons, up 9.8%; mango was estimated at 194, 800 tons, up 6.9%; and orange and tangerine were estimated at 284,000 tons, up 4%.

In particular, in this year, lychee and longan bloomed 95%, which promises a bumper harvest. MARD is assigning the Department of Agro-product Processing and Market Development to coordinate with localities to promote the consumption of lychee and longan to ensure stable and efficient output.

Apart from cultivation, in the first quarter, fishery and forestry also achieved good growth rates, reaching the set plan. Total fishery output was estimated at 1.38 million tons, up 4.9% over the same period last year. Currently, MARD is coordinating with local authorities to guide fishermen to strictly abide by regulations on fishing and origin of seafood to promptly solve the "yellow card" problem of the EU.

Contrary to the positive growth situation mentioned above, in the first quarter of the year, animal husbandry was the only sector failing to reach the growth rate under the assigned plan.

In the first three months of the year, there were 2 long and severe cold periods, during which 7,594 livestock and poultry died. In addition, the situation of pig husbandry was not good because the price was still low with many small households maintaining husbandry with small quantities of livestock in cages. However, many large poultry farms have expanded their scale of production by applying advanced technology. Enterprises have invested in expanding modern processing lines and diversifying products to promote export.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong remarked that the "picture" of the agricultural sector in the first quarter was very positive, especially the high growth rate of the sector, creating the premise for the following quarters as well as the implementation of the assigned targets in 2018.

In the coming time, Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong requested leaders of units under the Ministry to strictly cut business conditions and simplify procedures. In this April, units under the Ministry must focus on reducing the list of goods subject to specialized inspection and simplifying the specialized inspection procedures; At the same time, promptly completing the Decree amending the relevant Decrees on business investment conditions.

In order to contribute to the country's overall growth target of 6.5-6.7%, this year MARD strives to reach a GDP growth rate of at least 3.0%, an export turnover of US$ 40 -40.55 billion, and 39.8% of communes which are recognized as new rural standards and forest cover rate of 41.65%.

MARD will continue to review the planning and evaluate the advantages and potentials to develop a three-axis product structure that is consistent with the market demand and climate change: National key product groups; Provincial product groups and village / commune specialties for specific guidance; At the same time, focusing on developing markets for timely and effective consumption of agricultural products. In particular, in 2018, the sector will focus on the development of agricultural, forestry and fishery processing, especially processing of vegetables and fruits and animal products (chicken and pig), for the domestic market and export.