They can no longer make a profit after shrimp prices plummet to a 10-year low.

Vietnam’s firms are striving to promote Vietnamese farm produce in the Japanese market at a trade promotion programme held within the 10th Vietnam festival in Tokyo.

Although Vietnamese tea has been exported to more than 100 countries in the world, its export prices are always only as much as 60 - 70 per cent of the world price. There are many reasons for this reality and low quality, chemical residue and poor hygiene in processing are among the most pressing issues.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the export value of agricultural, forest and aquatic products was estimated at US$3.2 billion in May 2018, totalling US$15.6 billion in the first five months of 2018, up 9.9 per cent year on year.

Shipments surged after import taxes on Russian grain was lifted in 2016.

Vietnam wants major market to buy other fruits including grapefruit.

Japan’s investments reached $6.47 billion in the first half of 2018, accounting for 31.8 percent of the total FDI reported for the period.

Vietnam posted a total export revenue of US$113.93 billion in the first six months of 2018, up 16 per cent over the same period of 2017 and higher than the growth rate set for the whole of 2018, showing a positive result for Vietnam's foreign trade activities.

The Vietnamese cashew sector is calling for an US$800 million credit package from commercial banks to better serve its exports, as heard at a seminar held in HCM City on July 6.

The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre earned more than US$459.3 million in export turnover in the first half of 2018, an increase of 15.31 percent from the same period last year, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) recently arranged eight Vietnamese firms operating in the field of agricultural production to participate in and introduce their fresh and dried fruit, such as jackfruit, durian and lemons, at the 2018 Guangzhou International Fruit Expo in China’s Guangdong province.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on July 3 visited Sao Paulo, the largest financial and industrial hub of Brazil and the North American region, as part of his ongoing visit to Brazil.