Hanoi (VNA) – Total two-way trade betweenVietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached 809 million USD in the firsttwo months of this year, up 58 percent from the same period last year.
The UAE is one of Vietnam’s 10 largest export partners inthe world and is the largest export partner of Vietnam in the Middle East andAfrica, which has seen a surge in demand for imported goods in the time ofCOVID-19. Experts believe that there are plenty of opportunities for Vietnam togain a stronger foothold in this market in the time ahead.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamhas enjoyed high trade surplus with the UAE for years, posting 737 million USDworth of exports to UAE in January-February, up nearly 60 percent year-on-yearwhile imports valuing 72 million USD, up 44 percent.
Phones and accessories were Vietnam’s key export earnerfrom the UAE, bringing home 551 million USD, up about 108 percent from a yearearlier and accounting for two thirds of the total exports to the MiddleEastern country.
A number of agricultural products also witnessed highgrowth. Specifically, exports of cashew nuts increased six-fold year-on-year to10.3 million USD, while shipments of fishery products, fruit and vegetables,and pepper grew 18 percent, 12 percent, and 17 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, due to impacts of COVID-19, shipments offootwear and textile-garment declined 23 percent and 11 percent, respectively,to 14 million USD and 11 million USD.
Among imported goods from the UAE, plastic materialsvalued the highest, 41.8 million USD, up 66 percent year-on-year. Vietnam alsospent 8.7 million USD on importing cattle feed and materials, up 9 percent./.