Vietnam strives to become one of the world’s leading agricultural countries by 2050

Since the Doi Moi economic reform in the 1980s, Vietnam has transformed from being a nation heavily affected by food shortage to one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of many agricultural products, such as coffee, peanuts, and rice.

While the GDP share of the agriculture sector has been decreasing in recent years due to Vietnam’s shift towards a service economy, the GDP value of this sector has been growing steadily.

Agriculture has been the largest employer across economic sectors in Vietnam

After Vietnam’s trade liberalization and agricultural reforms, both the volume of production and the value of exports of the agriculture sector increased significantly.

Since the 1990s, several major intensive monoculture systems emerged across the country, such as the rice monoculture in the Mekong Delta and the intensive production of coffee and pepper in the Central Highlands.

Many of the agricultural products in the country initially addressed domestic consumption.

Vietnam’s rice consumption is one of the highest worldwide, Vietnam is also one of the largest paddy rice producers in the world.

Several other agricultural products have become major export commodities, such as coffee, pepper, cashew nut, and rubber.

In recent years, Vietnam has constantly been the second-largest coffee exporter globally, after Brazil.

The country also accounted for over 40 percent of pepper production share in the Asia Pacific region.

The agriculture sector of Vietnam has been facing certain challenges due to the changing climate in recent years.

Rice production in the Mekong Delta, the most important growing region in the country, has been negatively influenced by the effects of climate change.

Due to drought and related saltwater intrusion, the volume of rice produced in the Mekong Delta has been forecast to decrease.

the increased salination levels created an opportunity for farmers to switch from cultivating rice to farming shrimp, which have a higher export value.

The government has been providing training for farmers and loans to help farmers make the transition to shrimp farming.

The importance of improving Vietnam´s agricultural system along all parts of the value chain is growing and becomes more visible.

Alongside the rapid developments of the country as a whole, seen in for example the growing market liberalization and increasing foreign trade, the Vietnamese agricultural sector is promising for businesses in many
ways.

Vietnam aims to become a producer and exporter of highstandard food products to improve its export of value-added
products.

With income levels on the rise, Vietnamese consumers are
seeking products that offer convenience.

The country’s agricultural sector is at a turning point, and
agriculture remains an important part of the country’s economic
development due to its significance in global food security
questions