Seminar talks ways to boost farm exports to Middle East and Africa
VOV.VN - The Middle East and Africa are emerging as potential markets for Vietnamese agricultural products in the current context of export difficulties occurring in traditional markets.
A seminar was jointly held on November 24 in Hanoi by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to disseminate information on requirements, tastes and agricultural market regulations in the Middle East - Africa region in order to boost exports to potential markets, including the Middle East, Africa, the EU, and the United States.
Ngo Hong Phong, deputy head of the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, noted that Vietnamese agricultural products have been shipped to more than 190 countries and territories, with export turnover over the past 10 months of the year reaching US$43.08 billion.
The Middle East and Africa can therefore be seen as huge potential markets for local farm produce, especially food items, Phong said.
In recent years, the export volume and value of Vietnamese agricultural products to these markets have been increasing remarkably, with total export value in 2022 estimated to be at more than US$1.6 billion, up 2.6% over the previous year.
At present, traditional markets for Vietnamese agricultural products, such as Japan, the EU, and the US, are facing numerous difficulties, forcing local businesses to seek ways to bolster exports to new markets which have already enjoyed positive export growth.
Nguyen Phuc Nam, deputy head of the Asia - Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that Vietnamese seafood and farm produce are always on top list of key export products to the Middle East and Africa, with fruitful results recorded in export turnover.
The most-favoured Vietnamese products in the African region include rice, coffee, pepper, coconut, and canned products, while Middle East is keen on importing rice, coffee, cashew nut, pepper, fresh fruits, and seafood.
Along with these opportunities, agricultural and aquatic export enterprises have to deal with certain difficulties, such as differences in language, culture, legal systems, business practices, travel conditions, payment methods, and high costs of other services.
Additionally, a host of solutions to boost production, satisfy market requirements and sustainably increase import-export market share in these two lucrative markets were also raised for discussion at the seminar.
