Vietnam aims to promote agricultural exports to Africa

Vietnam’s agricultural export to Africa exceeded 950 million USD last year, accounting for 26.5% of the country’s total export revenue to the region, driven by rice and coffee. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Africa has remained a silverlining in trade between Vietnam and the world, Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc affirmed at a seminar held by the foreign ministry onNovember 1.

The official elaborated that in the first nine monthsof this year, trade between the two sides went up 4.7% to 4.35 billion USD,while that between Vietnam and the world dropped nearly 11% year-on-year.

Vietnam has many favourable conditions to promotethe export of agricultural products to Africa, he said, stressing Vietnamese Party and State high-ranking leaders are also interested in enhancing economic cooperation with theregion.

A view of the seminar (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

With a population of some 1 billion, Sub-SaharaAfrica would be a promising market for Vietnamese agricultural exports, hesaid, suggesting Vietnamese managers and firms to take appropriate measures to promoteproducts in the market effectively, apart from raising competitiveness in termsprice and quality.

Participants pointed to obstacles to the promotionof Vietnamese farm produce in Sub-Sahara Africa, including the lack of informationabout the market, partners and legal regulations, high transportation costs, complicatedcustoms procedures, and technical barriers.

They suggested sending trade promotion delegationsto the region, and discussed the establishment of showrooms for agriculturalproducts at Vietnamese representative offices there.

Vietnam’s agricultural export to Africa exceeded 950million USD last year, accounting for 26.5% of the country’s total exportrevenue to the region, driven by rice and coffee.  

Following the seminar, the ministry is scheduled toorganise another on promoting Vietnamese agricultural products in the MiddleEast and North Africa later this month./.

VNA