Vietnam-Middle East 08 Trade Reaches US$2.03B, Up 70.58 per cent On Year

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and the Middle East in 2008 reportedly increased by 70.58 per cent on-year to US$2.03 billion, said Nguyen Cong Hien, Deputy Director of the Department of Trade Policies for Africa and West-South Asia under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

 

Of the total, Vietnam exported US$1.27 billion worth of products, up 82 per cent on-year, Mr Hien added.

 

Vietnam mainly exports rice, coffee, apparel, footwear, plastic materials, seafood, coal, rubber, tea, woodwork products, computers, and electronic spare parts to the Middle East and imports petroleum and petrochemical products, chemicals, steel and iron, plastics, and fertilizer from the region.

 

In mid-2008, the MoIT issued an action agenda with aims to expand bilateral trade with the Middle East to US$3.1 billion in 2010 and to US$9.6 billion in 2015. (Vietnam Economic Times)