Vietnam faces difficulties in exporting to Algeria

A port in Algeria (Source: NewPress/tsa-algerie.com)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s export to Algeria will continue to face difficulties once the new import policy of the country takes effect from January 2018, warned the Vietnamese Commercial Affairs Office in Algeria.

The Algerian government has recently issued a new import policy for 2018, under which more than 850 products will be banned from entering the country, including those from Vietnam. 

The Government of Algeria aims to reduce total import value to 30 billion USD at the end of 2018. The country’s imports lowered from 46.7 billion USD in 2016 to 45 billion USD in 2017.

The banned goods include dried fruits, cheese, fresh fruits (excluding banana), fresh vegetables (excluding garlic), a number of meat, tuna, products processed from corn and meat, chewing gum, confectionary and chocolate, sweet cakes, soup, mineral water, household appliances and construction materials, among others.

Algeria’s Ministry of Trade will also cancel the import licensing system for 21 products in 2018, after the two years of implementation.

The Vietnamese Commercial Office also added that Vietnam’s exports to the market, not only mobile phones but also other products including confectionery, cereals, fruits and vegetables, plastic products, iron and steel, and ceramics, will be negatively affected.

[Vietnam affected by Algeria’s import tightening policy]

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s exports to Algeria hit 264 million USD in the 11 months of this year, up 9.3 percent from the same period of 2016, mostly coffee, mobile phones and rice. The country also spent 6 million USD on imports from the African country.

Since the Algerian government tightened imports by issuing licences for various imported products in June 2017, including mobile phones, and banned imports of enamelled tiles and wood, Vietnam’s exports to the country has declined remarkably. 

In August, September and October, Vietnam was unable to ship mobile phones and spare parts to Algeria.

In November, Vietnam earned only 12.63 million USD from exports to Algeria, down from 38.8 million USD in May and 36.5 million USD in June.-VNA