Vietnamese urged to better understand UAE market

Shrimp processing (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese should take the initiative to join business forums and participate in trade fairs and exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to understand the market, experts have said.

Besides this, Vietnamese trade offices abroad, including those in the UAE, need to provide enterprises with the latest market information on specific products they can offer consumers, Director of HCM City Trade and Investment Promotion Centre Dinh Thiet Hoa, said.

In order to tap into the market successfully, Vietnamese firms should pay attention to the preservation of goods to ensure their quality, while establishing effective supply chains which connect farmers, traders and logistics service providers, Dinh Cong Tuan, General Manager of Vietnam-Dubai Tradehub (Vietgate) Co, which helps Vietnamese firms ship products to Dubai in UAE, said.

The UAE was described as a lucrative market for Vietnamese goods thanks to strong economic growth, low import taxes and huge consumption demand.

According to the Vietnamese Embassy in the UAE, bilateral trade between Vietnam and the bloc topped 6.2 billion USD in 2015 and was likely to grow 20-22 percent this year.

Vietnam’s major exports to the bloc included pepper, rice and coffee, followed by electronics and computer spare parts, textiles and garments, shoes and footwear, and seafood products.

Pham Trung Nghia, Commercial Counselor and Head of Vietnam’s Trade Office in Dubai, said Vietnam’s agricultural products were increasingly winning the hearts of UAE consumers, with the Vietnamese dragon fruit dominant in the UAE market. Vietnamese bananas and pineapples were also increasingly being ordered.-VNA