Plenty of opportunities for trade expansion with South Africa: Official
There are plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese goods to enter South Africa and the regional countries, and for the two sides to boost business in multiple areas, Pham Thanh Hai, head of the Trade Office in South Africa, told Vietnam News Agency on August 19.
South Africa has been the African country with the largest two-way trade volume with Vietnam, he said on the sidelines of a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese trade offices overseas.
The annual bilateral trade stood at over US$1.3 billion, with Vietnam’s exports to South Africa exceeding US$800 million and imports, nearly US$500 million.
Hai outlined three fields that the two countries should focus on in order to strengthen bilateral relations – trade of fruits, investment, and trade of fuel and materials.
To boost fruit exports to South Africa, he advised Vietnamese exporters to pay more attention to processing and selling high value-added products, such as canned juices, dried fruits, jams, and fruit teas.
Vietnam has imported a large volume of coal from South Africa as input for thermal power plants over the last several years, he said, adding that the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy will sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in mining in the coming time.
He noted that it is the highest official agreement in mining between the two governments, expected to facilitate bilateral trade in mining and energy.
