Vietnam mainly exports mobile phones, footwear, garment-textile, rice, pepper, wood and timber products, cashew nuts, fruits and vegetable and coffee to the Middle East market (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Besides traditionalmarkets such as the US, EU and Japan, Vietnamese enterprises should makeinroads into the Middle East market, according to experts.
The Middle East is a market with more than 400million people and 16 countries. This region imports some 40 billion USD worthof food per year, which is projected to hit 70 billion USD by 2035.
Over the past few years, trade between theMiddle East and Vietnam has grown to reach 8.06 billion USD in 2016 and 12billion USD in 2017, with Vietnam exporting 9 billion USD and importing 3billion USD worth of goods.
Vietnam mainly exported mobile phones, footwear,garment-textile, rice, pepper, wood and timber products, cashew nuts, fruitsand vegetable and coffee.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade,Middle Eastern nations have big purchasing power with annual average grossdomestic product per capita of 60,000 – 127,000 USD.
Consumption products and farm produce are thetwo main import products in the region.
Moreover, the Middle East is an entrepot to other markets in North Africa andCentral Asia.
President of Intimex Group and Vice Chairman ofthe Vietnam Coffee and Cacao Association Do Ha Nam said the Middle East has bigdemand for rice, coffee, pepper and aquatic products.
He advised businesses to penetrate the marketthrough Dubai because this is one of the most open economies and the gateway ofgoods to the region.
Businesses should participate in trade fairs inDubai to meet with partners from the Middle East and neighbouring regions.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade suggestedVietnamese exporters study business customs as well as regulations andcertificates to export to the Middle East.
Deputy head of the ministry’s Asia-Africa MarketDepartment Le Thai Hoa said the Middle East is known as a potential market withhigh import demand without strict quality requirements.
To enable domestic firms to boost exports to theregion, the Vietnamese Government will simplify administrative procedures ontax and reduce time for customs at international ports, he said.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Tradeabolished thousands of unnecessary administrative procedures to aid localexporters, he added.
Deputy Director of the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI) branch in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen The Hung saidthe agency has held a number of exchange programmes and survey tours for Vietnamesebusinesses to explore foreign markets.
To increase connectivity between Middle East andVietnamese enterprises, the United Arab Emirates’s Relam Investment andVietnam’s MIG Holdings signed a cooperation agreement to launch Trade Hub inVietnam – a platform operating in many countries to connect online trade.
The Trade Hub is set to go into operation inJuly 2018, connecting manufacturers, services suppliers, financialorganisations and investors.-VNA
VNA
