The export value of Vietnam’s agricultural, forestry and seafood sector is forecast to reach US$13.67-B in 1-H of Y 2012, a year-on- year increase of 14.5%, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the sector spent nearly US$8.1-B for the imports of spare parts and raw materials in service of the sector’s production, hence posting a trade surplus of US$5.57-B during the period, said the ministry in a report posted on its website Tuesday.

Of the total export value, agricultural exports earned nearly US$7.7-B + 9.6% Y-Y, while seafood exports bagged nearly US$2.9-B + 10.6% and forestry exports with US$2.3-B + 22.9%.

Among 7 major agricultural exports, only pepper maintained high prices, while the others saw declining prices. During the 6 month period, the country exported 73,000 tons of pepper, worth US$494-M. Although the volume slightly rose by 4.3%, the value surged to 31.7% Y-Y. The average price for pepper exports reached US$6,811 per ton, + 28.9% compared to the same period last year.

About 3.7-M tons of rice, worth US$1.7-B were exported in the 1st 6 months, a Y-Y decrease of 8.8% in volume and 13.5% in value. The average price of rice exports declined during the period, reaching US$464 per ton, down 5.7% compared with the same period last year.

China was the country’s biggest rice importer, with an increase of 4.6 folds in volume and 3.8 folds in value over the same period last year. Malaysia ranked second, with demand rising up nearly 20%.

Coffee exports during 1-H of this year reached 1.1-M tons, worth US$2.3-B, a Y-Y increase of 26.5% in volume and 20.4% in value. The country’s 2 leading coffee importers are Germany accounting for 12.9% of the country’s coffee export value and the United States 12.5%. In particular, Indonesia’s import of Vietnamese coffee surged, with 8 times higher than the prior year.

Over 412,000 tons of rubber exports brought the country with US$1.3-M, up 42.5% in volume, but down 0.3% in value. Demands on rubber products continued to increase in such market as China + 31.2%, Malaysia, over 300%, China’s Taiwan + 59.5%, and India + 6.5 fold.

The country also earned US$86-M from 61,000 tons of tea exports, up 13.7% in volume and 9.9% in value Y-Y, US$666-M from 97,000 tons of cashew exports, + 41.2% in volume and 26.6% in value, making the country on top the list of the World’s cashew exporters. Demands from major foreign markets continued to rise, including the United States accounting for 37.7% of the country’s total cashew export value, China 26.3% and Holland 17.4%.

Meanwhile, the sector spent nearly US$8.1-B for the imports of raw materials and spare parts in service of production, an increase of 7.1% Y-Y. Of which, US$636-M were for the imports of 1.4-M tons of fertilizer, US$356-B for insecticide, and US$1-B for animal feed and materials for the production of animal feed, among others.

Imports of wood-based products and materials cost US$714-M, up 17.7% Y-Y, reported MARD.

Trai Thien USA Inc (PINK:TRTH)

Trai Thien USA is a fast-growing Vietnam-based dry bulk shipping company operating a 21,990 DWT fleet comprised of six geared bulk vessels specializing in providing ocean transportation services for raw material input items such as coal, ore, grain, lumber, cement, steel and fertilizer throughout the Southeast Asia region.

After China, the primary sources of future bulk demand are India, Brazil and Vietnam. The region contains three of the four global BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China), seen by economists as the future growth leaders in the world economy.

The Asia Pacific region accounts for 60% of the world’s population and almost 70% of world sea-borne trade in bulk commodities.

In order to meet anticipated continued growth in demand from an expanding base of overseas and domestic Vietnamese customers, as well as to expand the geographic regions that it can service to include potentially more profitable routes in East and South Asia.

The Company’s Vietnam-based operations are located in Ho Chi Minh City, which together with the surrounding areas, accounts for more than seventy percent of Vietnam’s total annual cargo traffic.

Pink Sheets TRTH

Revenue Growth 148%

Target Price 2013 $3.40

HCM Rating Strong Buy

Financial Highlights

The emerging economies of the Asia Pacific (ASEAN) region will continue their growth pattern despite the continuing financial crisis in Europe according to the Asian Development Bank.

Free Trade Agreements including ASEAN, AFTA, CAFTA, ASEAN +3 will more than triple regional trade.

· Year-end 2011 revenues increased over 20.9% as compared to the previous fiscal year, from $12,232,991 in 2010 to $14,794,939 in 2011.

· Income from Operations increased over 148% from 2010 to 2011, from $1,051,543 to $2,615,000

· Net Income increased from a loss of $539,452 in fiscal 2010 to a positive $1,377,391 in 2011.

· The Company is operating a 21,990 DWT fleet comprised of six geared bulk vessels specialized in providing ocean transportation services for raw material input items such as coal, ore, grain, lumber, cement, steel and fertilizer throughout the Southeast Asia region.

The HCM Trade Forecast is predicting that world trade will grow by 73% in the next 15 years, with merchandise trade volumes in 2025 hitting $43.6trillion compared to today’s $27.2trillion.

Source http://www.livetradingnews.com