Vietnam set to further facilitate trade with Africa

Vietnam set to further facilitate trade with Africa

By Le Phuong
Xinhua

HANOI — Vietnam plans to further facilitate trade with Africa, a potentially populated market with over 1 billion people. It expects to pocket about 3.12 billion U.S. dollars from the exports to this continent in 2013, an increase of 20 percent year on year, local press has reported.

In recent years, the annual two-way trade between Vietnam and Africa has increased over 20 percent on the average.

Specifically, in 2012, Vietnam earned 2.6 billion dollars from its exports to 55 African countries, among whom 10 major markets accounted for 82 percent of the total export value including South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Angola, Mozambique and Morocco, local Vietnam Economic Times reported Wednesday.

Vietnamese exports to Africa mainly included rice, coffee, pepper, seafood, computers, electronic products and appliances, phones, transport vehicles and spare parts, equipment and machines, garments and footwear.

During 2011-2013, African markets are estimated to annually consume 24 to 24.5 million tons of rice, of which about 10 million tons will be imported. This provides a large room for Vietnamese rice exporters.

In 2012, Vietnam exported rice to 32 African countries, earning 900 million dollars, up 22 percent year on year. It also exported phones and appliances worth 264 million dollars, up 104.7 percent, mainly to South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Angola and Tunisia, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT).

Africa is a potential market which supplies diverse products to Vietnam. Currently, Vietnam imports cotton in service of its garment sector from 21 African countries, mainly from Mali, Togo, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Benin and Senegal, the ministry said.

According to MIT’s Trade Promotion Agency, Vietnam will hold many activities to increase exports to Africa this year. Besides, the government has issued policies to support small and medium- sized enterprises to further penetrate the African market.

Africa is set to maintain a growth rate of 5-6 percent this year, as predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Among 20 countries in the world that are forecast to record the highest growth rate in the 2013-2017 period, there are 13 African countries.

The United Nations also forecast Africa’s population would increase to 1.2 billion people by 2050, which promises a high consumption demand from this continent.

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