Addressing the event, Nguyen Minh Phuong, head of the West Asia – Africa Office under the MoIT 's Department of Asia – Africa Markets noted that Middle East countries must import up to 80% of food and foodstuffs, equivalent to 40 billion USD each year, while African countries also import goods with similar value every year. Notably, the requirements for quality and product design of these markets are not too strict.
Truong Xuan Trung, who is in charge of the Vietnam Trade Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said all Vietnamese goods can be exported to this market if they meet standards, noting that the UAE is also a regional and global transit centre, so there is potential to re-export goods from this market.
According to Trung, Vietnam is the largest exporter of agricultural products to the UAE among ASEAN countries. In the first 10 months of 2023, Vietnam's export of cashew nuts, rice, fruits and vegetables, and tea increased by 60%, 30.9%, 18% and 15.4%, respectively.
Notably, agricultural products exported to the UAE are not yet subject to taxes, therefore, Vietnamese goods, even without the geographical advantage, can still compete in this market, Trung noted.
Furthermore, the UAE is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), so Vietnamese goods exported to the UAE and re-exported to other GCC countries are not subject to double tax.
Nguyen Duy Hung from the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt said agricultural products including tea, pepper, cashew nuts, coconut rice, coffee, and seafood are the main exports of Vietnam to Egypt. However, these products are facing fierce competition from similar goods from other countries.
A representative of the Vietnam Trade Office in Nigeria emphasised that as the most populous country in Africa and the fastest-growing consumer market in the world, Nigeria is a potential market for Vietnamese goods. The country’s consumption growth is predicted to surge by 150% to 603 billion USD in 2030 from 240 billion USD in 2023. Nigeria is also forecast to be the world's largest rice importer in 2024 with a total volume of about 2.1 million tonnes.
Speakers advised domestic exporters to be cautious in trade transactions with partners in Africa and the Middle East, saying that the risk in payment is the most important issue to pay heed to.
Businesses should choose a safe payment method such as a letter of credit (L/C) to avoid fraud, they said.
