Middle East and North Africa
Offering Great Opportunities for Vietnamese Goods
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is considered as a market of great potential for Vietnamese enterprises. This is also an important gate for Vietnamese-made goods to enter the Middle East and Northern Africa. In 2004, trade exchange value between Vietnam and the UAE reached US$120 million, up 62 per cent against that of 2003. Of this figure, Vietnam’s export turnover was put at US$66.3 million, with major items, including farm-produce, woodwork and handicrafts. Vietnam, in turn, imports fertiliser, plastics and equipment from the UAE.
Ngo Van Thoan, head of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, under the Ministry of Trade, said that Vietnam and the UAE had many co-operation opportunities in trade. Vietnamese enterprises may gain great results in the market with careful preparations. Thoan said that last July, the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency set up the Vietnam-UAE trade promotion centre. This is a favourable condition for Vietnamese enterprises to promote their export of goods to the market.
The UAE is located on the Arabian peninsula, bordered with the Arabian Gulf in the north, Oman in the east, Saudi Arabia in the south. This strategic location has benefited the UAE, turning it into the leading trade centre in the world. The country is the third world largest re-export centre, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. Three major re-export items, accounting for 58 per cent of value, include precious metals, electronic goods, and textiles and garments.
Prince Mohamed Sultan Bin Houwaden, vice president of the UAE Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sharjah), said that co-operating with the UAE, Vietnam could get access to a market of 1.5 billion people, stretching from Africa, Western Asia, countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe, as well as countries around the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
The UAE is also one of the safest business environments in the world. The country occupies ten per cent of the world oil reserves, which can be used for over 100 more years. The UAE free trade area has more than 4,500 companies with trade value put at around US$13 billion. More importantly, the UAE is an open market with easy-to-please administrative procedures and no barriers.
Vietnamese enterprises can seek co-operation opportunities with the Dubai market. This is one of the seven emirates within the UAE. Dubai has become well-known for a long time as the largest trade centre in the Middle East and an important gate to enter CIS, Central Asia, Southern Asia, Northern Africa and other regions. Goods are imported to Dubai without quotas and any other barriers on import policies, customs procedures, certificates of origin (C/O), quality and sample of products. Duty-free import items to Dubai include seafood, fresh vegetables, fresh and dried fruit, roasted or raw coffee, tea packed in less-than-three kilogram bags, rice, sugar, medicines, books and newspapers, helicopters, canoes and ships.
However, Vietnamese enterprises will face some difficulties as this is a new market with fierce competition due the fact that goods imported to the market are often re-exported despite its huge and various needs. Also, it is difficult to predict its consumption needs and tastes. Transportation means direct to the market, including the air, is unavailable from Vietnam, thus leading to high costs and taking a long time for delivery. As a result, goods are less competitive. Also, marketing costs and expenses for taking part in fairs and exhibitions are often high, hampering trade promotion activities.
Nonetheless, the UAE in particular, the Middle East, and Northern Africa in general, are potential markets for Vietnamese enterprises.
Vietnamese
