Agriculture CEO monthly pay of 527 million VND (about 20,000 dollars) — surpassing IT and real estate to rank first among all industries
According to the "2026 Salary & Labour Market Report (Talent Guide 2026)" released on January 26, 2026 by Navigos Group, Vietnam's largest HR-services company, the monthly pay range for a General Director/CEO in the agriculture sector is 126 million–527 million VND (about 4,800–20,000 dollars), the highest level among all 21 industries surveyed. This figure does not include additional compensation such as bonuses and stock options, so the effective total compensation may be even higher.
The survey is a large-scale one that gathered responses from more than 250 companies and over 1,600 individuals, covering major sectors such as construction and real estate (response share 12.29%), retail and wholesale (8.44%) and IT (7.70%). The agriculture sector's response share was only 1.92% at the lowest level in the whole survey, throwing into relief the smallness of the talent pool itself.
Why agriculture became a "high-pay industry"
Vietnam's agriculture, forestry and fishery sector in 2025 grew about 4% year on year, the highest growth rate in the past decade. The 2025 agriculture, forestry and fishery export value 70.09 billion dollars (about 10.5 trillion yen) was reached, far exceeding the government target of 65 billion dollars. In the 2026–2030 five-year plan, 95–100 billion dollars is targeted, and demand for management talent able to drive this rapid expansion is surging explosively.
Ngo Thi Ngoc Lan, Navigos Search's director for the north, points out that "at many companies, actual compensation exceeds even the upper-average cap published in the report." The following structural changes are cited as factors behind the high pay.
- Industrialization of production: A shift to industrial-style agriculture making full use of biotechnology, automation and data analysis is under way
- Conformity to global quality standards: Building a quality-management system able to meet the import standards of the US, EU, Japan and the Middle East is indispensable
- An absolute shortage of talent: People who understand agricultural management and technology while being able to integrate and manage international market strategy and complex supply chains are extremely few
Background data: pay by sector and agriculture's positioning
Looking at Vietnam's CEO pay by industry, that agriculture stands at the top over IT, finance and real estate may be counterintuitive. But, with Q1 2026 agriculture, forestry and fishery exports at 16.69 billion dollars as reached, the sector's scale and growth rate being greater than IT's is pushing up the pay level.
| Position (agriculture sector) | Monthly pay range (VND) | Monthly pay range (USD) | Yen conversion (1 USD = 150 yen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Director / CEO | 126 million–527 million | 4,800〜20,000 | 720,000–3 million yen |
| Senior director / department head | 86 million–125 million | 3,300〜4,800 | 500,000–720,000 yen |
| Key specialist | 150 million+ | 5,700〜 | 860,000 yen+ |
| CFO / sales head | up to 198 million | 〜7,600 | up to 1.14 million yen |
Responding companies' composition by industry (top 5 industries)
| Industry | Response share |
|---|---|
| Construction and real estate | 12.29% |
| Retail, wholesale and foodservice | 8.44% |
| IT | 7.70% |
| Electronics | 7.45% |
| Chemicals, building materials and packaging | 7.20% |
Agriculture at 1.92% and securities at 0.87% have the lowest response shares. This does not mean a low share of Vietnam's total workforce, but means that "the base number of executive talent is small."
Local reaction
Ngo Thi Ngoc Lan (Navigos Search director for the north):"Agriculture long had the image of a '3K industry' (hard, dirty, unprofitable), but the introduction of biotech and the rapid expansion of exports completely changed this perception. In particular, the recruiting competition for smart-agriculture project managers and supply-chain integration directors is overheating."
An agritech-company CEO in Ho Chi Minh City:"People who can manage Vietnam's farmer network while meeting US and EU quality standards are really few. There are cases where, even offering an annual salary of 300,000 dollars or more, no suitable person can be found."
A career-support officer at an agricultural university:"Only about 20% of graduates take jobs at agriculture-related companies. The rest flow to IT and finance. Now that compensation has reversed, consultations about U-turn career changes have been increasing."
Takeaways for agriculture stakeholders and Japanese companies
These survey results vividly reflect the structural change in Vietnamese agriculture. For Japanese agriculture-related companies and food makers considering entry into Vietnam, the following points carry practical meaning.
- Rising talent-acquisition costs: The cost of recruiting executives at Vietnamese agricultural corporations has reached a level equal to or above that of department-head class at a mid-sized Japanese maker
- Compensation design in joint ventures and partnerships: The Japanese-style "seniority plus fixed salary" system carries the risk of being unable to retain excellent local talent in Vietnam
- Expanding technology-transfer needs: In fields where talent is short even at high pay (quality management, GAP certification, environmental certification (green passport) compliance), there is room for Japanese companies to enter through technical consulting
Ripple effects on the industry
The persistently high pay for agriculture CEOs reflects multiple structural changes brought by the industrialization of Vietnamese agriculture.
- Curriculum reform at agricultural universities: Demand is rising for programs that integrate data science, international business and quality management in addition to traditional cultivation and animal husbandry studies
- More active headhunting: Cases of management talent from IT and FMCG backgrounds being scouted into the agriculture sector are increasing. An inflow from other industries may lift the industry's management quality
- Mobility of startup talent: A fight for talent is arising between agritech startups and large agricultural corporations, and stock-option and performance-based compensation systems are spreading
- The gap between rural areas and cities: High-pay positions concentrate in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and the gap in treatment with the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta, where the actual production bases are, is widening
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Report name | 2026 Salary & Labour Market Report – Talent Guide 2026 |
| Publisher | Navigos Group (Vietnam's largest HR-services company) |
| Publication date | January 26, 2026 |
| Survey scale | More than 250 companies, over 1,600 individual responses |
| Agriculture CEO monthly pay range | 126 million–527 million VND (4,800–20,000 USD) |
| Vietnam agriculture, forestry and fishery exports (2025) | 70.09 billion dollars (exceeding the 65-billion-dollar target) |
| 2026–2030 export target | 95–100 billion dollars |
| Report (English version) | Published free on Navigos Group's official site |
Summary
The fact that agriculture CEO pay in Vietnam has risen to the top of all industries, above IT, real estate and finance, is proof that the country's agriculture is transforming from a mere "primary industry" into a "technology-intensive export industry." The agriculture, forestry and fishery sector, which earns over 70 billion dollars a year, is desperate for management talent able to handle biotech, automation and compliance with international quality standards. The structure in which the smallness of the talent pool (a response share of only 1.92%) pushes up pay is expected to continue for the time being, and when Japanese companies enter or partner in Vietnam's agriculture field, accurately grasping local executives' pay levels and the reality of the talent market is indispensable.
