US farm exports to Vietnam jump 45% to $5.6bn record in 2025

US agro-forestry-fishery exports to Vietnam rose 45 percent in 2025 to a record US$5.6 billion, making Vietnam one of the top ten markets for American agriculture — and Washington has just sent the largest single-country trade mission in the US Department of Agriculture's history to press the advantage.

The delegation, led by Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Vaden, toured Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, meeting wood, cotton and leather sector associations and visiting MM Mega Market to inspect how American products move through Vietnamese distribution. The mission's visit was confirmed by Vaden himself at a ceremony marking the Vietnam-US agricultural partnership, attended by Vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong, US Consul General Melissa A. Brown, and representatives of more than 30 American agricultural businesses.

The numbers explain the attention. A 45 percent single-year jump — to $5.6 billion — outpaced US agricultural export growth to every other market worldwide last year, according to Consul General Brown. The flow runs both ways: the United States ranks as Vietnam's second-largest export market for agro-forestry-fishery products.

What is driving the $5.6 billion trade lane?

The partnership rests on complementary supply chains rather than head-to-head competition. US cotton, soybeans and corn feed raw material into Vietnam's textile, livestock and food-processing industries. In the other direction, Vietnamese coffee, cashews, fruit and seafood diversify choices for American consumers.

Cuong framed the relationship as more than transactional. The bilateral agricultural partnership, he said, had been built over many years through not only trade but also technical cooperation and mutual trust. He described agricultural cooperation as an increasingly practical pillar of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Vaden echoed the structural argument, highlighting what he called the complementary nature of agricultural trade and expressing hope to build sustainable partnerships with Vietnamese associations, expand exports of American raw materials to Vietnam, and create more opportunities for Vietnamese goods to enter the US market. His wording matters: the American side is pairing its export push with a stated commitment to open its own door, though no specific US import facilitation measures were announced at the event.

Ho Chi Minh City's high-tech agriculture plan

For 2026-30, Ho Chi Minh City plans to develop high-tech urban agriculture and is explicitly seeking US partners in crop varieties, biotechnology and technology transfer. Cuong said the city will continue facilitating American businesses' trade and investment activities and will work with the US Consulate General to connect companies from both countries.

He also pressed a familiar Vietnamese ask: that the US further facilitate market access for Vietnamese agricultural products. That request remains the open variable in the equation. The event produced no American commitment on new access for Vietnamese farm goods — only Vaden's general expression of hope.

Hundreds of B2B meetings on the agenda

The commercial substance of the mission is unusually dense. During the visit, the US delegation is expected to hold hundreds of meetings with Vietnamese businesses to seek partners, expand distribution channels and develop long-term trade relationships.

A California representative on the sidelines said trade promotion now takes multiple forms — from product displays at retail outlets to direct business-to-business connections. California also organizes trips for Vietnamese businesses to meet American manufacturers, discuss market demand and explore opportunities to introduce their products to the US market. Direct B2B meetings, the representative said, give both sides a chance to discuss cooperation challenges and assess the commercial viability of products.

Retail distribution as the growth frontier

At the Taste of USA 2026 event, held Monday at MM Mega Market An Phu in Ho Chi Minh City, Vaden made the consumer case plainly. With American beef, lobster, pork and many brands regularly on store shelves, Vietnamese consumers can prepare American-style meals in Ho Chi Minh City just as they would in Louisville, Kentucky, or Tennessee, he said.

With Vietnamese purchasing power continuing to grow, American businesses hope to expand their agricultural footprint across local distribution networks and make products more accessible at competitive prices. Brown called Ho Chi Minh City a dynamic market offering numerous opportunities for American exporters, and said the US embassy and consulate general were committed to promoting American exports while building strong, fair and mutually beneficial trade relations.

Vietnamese retailers, meanwhile, want the lane to run harder in their direction. Nguyen Duc Toan, managing director of MM Mega Market Vietnam and Big C Cambodia and head of BJC's business division in Vietnam, said his company works with around 1,500 suppliers — roughly 250 of which directly export Vietnamese-made products statesides. About 25 of MM Mega Market's partners export directly to the American market.

Toan proposed organizing a Vietnamese goods fair in the US, mirroring the events showcasing American agricultural products in Vietnam. "We could introduce regional fruits directly to American consumers, such as dragon fruit, pomelos, avocados, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits from Da Lat and longan from Hung Yen," he said.

The record $5.6 billion baseline, a 45 percent growth rate that beat every other US agricultural export market, and a USDA mission of unprecedented scale for a single country all point one direction. Whether US market access for Vietnamese produce widens at the same pace is the question neither delegation answered this week.