Exporters see Middle East, Africa as virgin lands

March 12, 2011 | 08:44

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How to further tap the Middle East and African markets which have a great demand for importation of almost all products topped a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on March 11.

illustration photo

Thai Tuan Kieu, Deputy General Director of the Thai Tuan Group, said businesses of the same industry should find out a common voice in production and marketing, sell products at reasonable prices and master the cultures and customs of regional nations.

Thai Tuan group has more than 10 years experience in doing business with partners in the Middle East and Africa, sending its products to Kuwait , Iran , Egypt , Morocco , Algeria and South Africa .

Dang Ngoc Quang, former commercial counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy to Egypt , said the Middle East and Africa were ideal for local exporters who can sell their products at booming retail markets and take cash.

These markets are moving staples, from vegetable and root crops, tubers or bulbs to rice, as the grain is easy to transport, process and store. It therefore offers another option for exporters, in addition to traditional products such as seafood, dried farm produce, apparels, footwear and wooden products.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that two-way trade revenues between Vietnam and the regions of Africa, Western and Southern Asia fluctuated between 3 and $3.5 billion a year and accounted for 20-25 per cent of the national export value.

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