Hanoi (VNA) – An online workshop discussing measuresto further promote the export of potential products to Africa and the MiddleEast was held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s VietnamTrade Promotion Agency on November 23.

Addressingthe event, Nguyen Minh Phuong, head of the West Asia – Africa Office underthe MoIT 's Department of Asia – Africa Markets noted that Middle East countries must import up to 80% of food and foodstuffs, equivalentto 40 billion USD each year, while African countries also import goods with similarvalue every year. Notably, the requirements for quality and product design ofthese markets are not too strict.

TruongXuan Trung, who is in charge of the Vietnam Trade Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said all Vietnamese goods can beexported to this market if they meet standards, noting that the UAE is also aregional and global transit centre, so there is potential to re-export goodsfrom this market.

According to Trung, Vietnam is the largest exporter of agriculturalproducts 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 increasedby 60%, 30.9%, 18% and 15.4%, respectively.

Notably, agricultural products exported to the UAE are not yetsubject 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 toother GCC countries are not subject to double tax.

Nguyen Duy Hung from the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt said agriculturalproducts including tea, pepper, cashew nuts, coconut rice, coffee, and seafood arethe main exports of Vietnam to Egypt. However, these products are facing fiercecompetition from similar goods from other countries.

A representative of the Vietnam Trade Office in Nigeria emphasisedthat as the most populous country in Africa and the fastest-growing consumermarket in the world, Nigeria is a potential market for Vietnamese goods. The country’sconsumption growth is predicted to surge by 150% to 603 billion USD in 2030 from240 billion USD in 2023. Nigeria is also forecast to be the world's largestrice importer in 2024 with a total volume of about 2.1 million tonnes.

Speakers advised domestic exporters to be cautious intrade transactions with partners in Africa and the Middle East, saying that therisk in payment is the most important issue to pay heed to.

Businesses should choose a safe payment method such as a letterof credit (L/C) to avoid fraud, they said./.