Vegetables at a supermarket in Vietnam.

Other key export items include rice and coffee, the Ministry said. 

Vietnam shipped 4.3 million tonnes of rice abroad in the past 6 months, earning 2.3 billion USD.

Rice prices are expected to rise as output in some Asian countries is dropping due to the impact of El Niño.

Nguyen Nhu Tiep, Director General of the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, said that trade promotion in the coming time will target large importers of Vietnamese farm produce such as China, the US, and Japan. 

Fruit and vegetable exports will continue to surge if quality is maintained, traceable cultivation areas are expanded and more packaging facilities are certified, said Tiep.

“Countries will import more rice and seafood exports will recover. Coffee exports have been falling in quantity but prices are going up,” he added.