This is a positive sign for Vietnamese traders and producers because it means they’ll be able to increase the amount they export more easily, say ministry officials. Some 50 per cent of forestry and farm products are currently sold as exports.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, says the agriculture export industry’s outlook is positive thanks to the strong growth it posted last year.

Ministry officials expect the turnover from these exports will grow to US$7.5 billion, an increase of 5.8 per cent compared to 2006.

The market will likely fluctuate but key products like rice, coffee, rubber, pepper, and wood will remain strong, says Phat.

2007 will be also the year to develop strategic programmes related to the enhancing farm produce.

The objectives include: boosting the transformation of crop mechanisms, along with intensive farming, to increase productivity, quality and the efficiency of production; quickly developing livestock breeding projects while preventing diseases, especially avian flu; raising the quality of salt by increasing production of pure salt for export and industrial salt to replace the amount of imported salts and promoting the development of processing technology for agriculture products.

The ministry predicts rice will be one of the most sought-after products on the world market because its price is increasing as is its demand.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the supply of rice will not meet the world’s needs due to crop diseases affecting many countries that typically export this product. Vietnamese farmers can fill this void because they reduced their export numbers last year and grew types of rice that are resistant to disease.

The ministry reports Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces have successfully planted a rice strain that can also repel brown-hoppers, an insect that has plagued these crops in past years.

In addition, Delta authorities have implemented a programme to plant 1 million tonnes of high quality rice for export in seven provinces.

Representatives from the Viet Nam Rice Association say domestic enterprises have already signed contracts to export 1.6 million tonnes of rice in 2007 and are on target to meet the country’s plan to export 4.5 million tonnes of rice this year.

One of the bigger deals inked was Viet Nam’s contract to sell 474,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines.

Viet Nam will give priority in exporting rice to its main rice trading partners like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cuba and Japan, said officials.

This year, the world’s coffee export market is promising for Vietnamese producers, as well, because the price of beans is rising. According to the International Coffee Orga-nisation, coffee prices in the world market have already increased in the first quarter of this year.

Brazil’s Robusta coffee brand will have to compete with Viet Nam’s bean growers because of the increasing quality of Vietnamese coffee and the impact of the nation’s entrepreneurs on the international market