Vietnam plans to export 1.2 million tonnes, or 20 million bags, of coffee this year, down 4 percent from the amount shipped in 2011 but above a previous forecast of 1.1 million tonnes, a state-run newspaper reported on Thursday. Annual rice exports were seen reaching 7 million tonnes this year, after Vietnam exported a record 7.1 million tonnes in 2011, according to the Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper which cited annual targets from the Industry and Trade Ministry.
Crude oil exports, meanwhile, were expected to hit 9.4 million tonnes, an increase of 13.7 percent from last year, the newspaper reported. The three items are among Vietnam's top cash earners, led by products from processing industries such as textiles, electronics equipment and footwear. Coffee export revenue would hit $2.6 billion in 2012, the newspaper said.
Vietnam is the world's second biggest producer of coffee, after Brazil, and top exporter of the robusta variety, used in instant drinks. It is the world's second biggest exporter of rice after Thailand. The government has projected the nation's export revenues to rise 13 percent from 2011 to $108.8 billion, after exports jumped 33.3 percent last year to $96.26 billion, helping narrow Vietnam's annual trade deficit to $9.52 billion.
"In order to boost exports, the main measures are to strongly step up trade promotions, taking opportunities from markets opened by free trade agreements," the newspaper cited the trade ministry's policy as saying. The trade ministry's rice export target is in line with a projection by the Agriculture Ministry, which expected between 6.8 million and 7.3 million tonnes of the grain to be shipped this year.
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