Vietnam exported more than 5.3 billion U.S. dollars worth of farm and forestry products in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year rise of over 20.5 percent, according to a local trade agency on Friday.

Between January and September, items recording high export growth included rubber, up 97.1 percent to 946 million dollars; coffee, up 37.2 percent to 803 million dollars; pepper, up 35.4 percent to 159 million dollars; and woodwork, up 23.8 percent to nearly 1.4 billion dollars, said the Trade Information Center under the Trade Ministry.

To export more farm and forest products, Vietnam is focusing on building brands, registering product trademarks, improving quality, exploiting traditional markets such as China, the United States, Japan and the European Union while seeking new ones.

Vietnam has targeted to export over 7.3 billion dollars worth of agriculture, forestry and fishery products in 2006, up from nearly 6.9 billion dollars in 2005, the center said.

Source: Xinhua