Africa has remained a silver lining in trade between Vietnam and the world, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc affirmed at a seminar held by the foreign ministry on November 1.

The official elaborated that in the first nine months of 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 promote the export of agricultural products to Africa, he said, stressing Vietnamese Party and State high-ranking leaders are also interested in enhancing economic cooperation with the region.

With a population of some 1 billion, Sub-Sahara Africa would be a promising market for Vietnamese agricultural exports, he said, suggesting Vietnamese managers and firms to take appropriate measures to promote products in the market effectively, apart from raising competitiveness in terms price and quality.

Participants pointed to obstacles to the promotion of Vietnamese farm produce in Sub-Sahara Africa, including the lack of information about the market, partners and legal regulations, high transportation costs, complicated customs procedures, and technical barriers.

They suggested sending trade promotion delegations to the region, and discussed the establishment of showrooms for agricultural products at Vietnamese representative offices there.

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. 

Following the seminar, the ministry is scheduled to organise another on promoting Vietnamese agricultural products in the Middle East and North Africa later this month.

VNA