Coffee exports fall by over 11 percent in Q1

Coffee exports earned 771 million USD for Vietnam in the first quarter of 2021 (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam exported 428,000 tonnes of coffee worth 771 million USD in the first quarter of 2021, down 17 percent in volume and 11.3 percent in value year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

In March alone, 145,000 tonnes of coffee were shipped abroad, bringing home 275 million USD. The figures respectively rose 18 percent and 27.3 percent month on month, but declined 21.1 percent and 11 percent compared to the same period last year.

Despite a drop in both export volume and value, export prices still increased in Q1, the MARD said, noting that prices of Vietnamese coffee averaged 1,897 USD per tonne in March, up 7.9 percent from the previous month and 12.8 percent year on year.

During Q1, average coffee export prices grew 6.8 percent from a year earlier to 1,801 USD per tonne.

MARD statistics also showed that in the first three months, the country exported 10.61 billion USD worth of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, up 19.7 percent year on year. Meanwhile, imports hit 7.74 billion USD, up 44.7 percent.

That resulted in a trade surplus of 2.87 billion USD for the agricultural sector during the period./.