Challenges for exports to Africa
(VOV) - Vietnamese exports to major African markets slowed down in the first quarter of the year due to fierce competition.
South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria and Angola experienced slight growth while Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal saw a sharp decline in Vietnamese imports, according to the Vietnam General Department of Customs.
Major exports include rice, coffee, computers, electronics and appliances, mobile phones, vehicles and spare parts, equipment, garments and footwear.
Hoang Duc Nhuan, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, says Vietnamese commodities to Africa encountered difficulty in the first quarter, especially due to fierce competition from India’s low cost rice which is now available in Ghana, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
In addition, many African nations are pursuing their food self-sufficiency programmes by developing wet rice cultivation.
Seafood exports to Egypt also fell because of its economic and political instability. The Egyptian government recently introduced a draft document to impose high import tariffs on 100 commodities, including high-quality frozen seafood, in order to ease foreign currency pressure and develop the domestic industry.