Vietnam Plans More Trade Offices to Boost Trade with Africa

Vietnam Plans More Trade Offices to Boost Trade with Africa

Vietnam will give priority to the establishment of more trade offices in Africa in order to increase trade with the continent, which is perhaps Vietnam’s largest potential underdeveloped market, the Ministry of Trade (MoT) has said.

This year the ministry will open at least two additional trade offices in Morocco and Algeria, the two nations that Vietnam considers the door to enter the whole continental market.

“We expect the operation of more African trade offices will help provide sufficient business market information to domestic enterprises as well as facilitate them to set up trade relations with foreign partners,” a MoT official said.

Moreover, such offices will also work to ease obstacles facing traders from the two sides in goods distribution and transportation and payment systems, he said.

Currently, direct routes to the African market remain insufficient while business laws and regulations in Africa are complicated and unfamiliar, and many African enterprises are small and use direct trading methods.

Though Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with 48 out of 54 African countries it only has four trade offices on the continent, in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and South Africa.

Vietnam’s exports to Africa have increased from $15 million in 1991 to $400 million last year. Export values reached $57 million in Senegal, $32 million in the Ivory Coast, and $31 million in Ghana in 2004.

Currently major Vietnamese exports to Africa include rice, garments and textiles, pepper, rubber, electrical, electronic and plastic products. Vietnam mainly imports fertilizer, cashew nuts, steel, cotton and wood materials from the continents.

VNS, Vietnam Economic Times