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Promote cooperation with Africa in agriculture

• According to Mr. Bui Ha Nam, Director of the Department of West Asian - Africa Affairs, to export to the African market, businesses need to improve their ability to compete in price and quality with other suppliers in the world. Vietnam also needs many appropriate solutions and means to promote agricultural products to businesses and consumers in this market.

(News Portal – Dong Nai) - In 2023, when export activities are having a hard time due to the impact of the global economic recession, which has affected many traditional markets of Vietnam, Africa emerges as spotlight in Vietnam's trade. In particular, the amount of agricultural product exported to this market are increasing.

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Processing cashew nuts for export at a facility in Xuan Loc District 

Exported products to the African market include many products that are Dong Nai province's strong points such as: coffee, cashew nuts, pepper... This is an opportunity for businesses in the province to promote exports to this market during this challenging time.

A potential market

In the first 9 months of 2023, Vietnam's total trade turnover with the world decreased by nearly 11% compared to the same period in 2022, but Vietnam's turnover with the African region increased by 4.7%, reaching 4.35 billion USD. In particular, many Vietnamese agricultural products exported to the region have increased sharply in volume and value, such as rice, coffee, cashew nuts...

Africa has a population of more than 1.3 billion people and limited production capacity, so there is a high demand for importing agricultural products and food, especially rice, coffee, pepper... This is Vietnam's strong product group, so this new market is currently a bright spot in Vietnam's trade picture in the context of the struggling global economy. This market also has a lot of potential and room to promote agricultural exports.

At the online seminar "Promoting agricultural products at Vietnamese representative agencies in Africa" took place in early November, Mr. Duong Chinh Chuc, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Angola commented that promoting activities for Vietnamese agricultural products into African markets is very appropriate because these countries are experiencing agricultural scarcity. In the coming time, the Vietnamese Embassy in Angola will strongly promote and support the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to this country. In particular, the Embassy will actively approach businesses in the host country, connecting businesses between the two countries. In addition, promoting Vietnamese agricultural products in this market is also very important. The Embassy will organize activities to display Vietnamese products directly or introduce them through e-commerce channels.

A representative of the South African Embassy said that South Africa is considered a gateway, a connection port in bringing goods deep into African countries. Vietnam's main agricultural products have been well-received in this market, especially rice, pepper, cashew... In particular, since 2022, instant coffee products have been outstandingly liked by this market. However, currently Vietnamese agricultural products have not left their marks in the South African market. The Embassy is ready to support businesses in market research as well as legal verification of partners in Africa and support for product display and promotion... ​

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Dong Nai's main export agricultural products participate in the trade promotion program in Bien Hoa City in 2023 

Must consider future possibilities

Recently, the export of agricultural products to the African market has not been promoted due to a number of challenges: lack of information and understanding of the market, partners, legal regulations, and business practices of the host country. This is a remote market so the cost of transporting goods is quite high... To promote the export of agricultural products to this potential market, the first thing to do is invest in carefully planned trade promotion activities in the African market.

With the goal of promoting and increasing the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to Africa, Vietnamese Embassies in Africa have proactively established showrooms and display areas to introduce export samples of Vietnam, helping to successfully connect a number of local partners and businesses from host countries with Vietnamese partners. Localities, including Dong Nai province, are very interested in the African market and hope to have many supportive policies to boost exports to this market.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai province, said that in recent years, Dong Nai had exported various agricultural products such as coffee, pepper, timber, cashew, vegetables, fruits, and livestock feeds and raw materials into the African market. Specifically, export turnover in the first 9 months of 2023 to the African market reached over 696.7 million USD. Of which, coffee export was nearly 3.5 million USD, pepper was more than 1.1 million USD and cashew was more than 431 thousand USD, vegetables and fruits were more than 40.5 thousand USD, animal feed and raw materials were nearly 496.6 thousand USD. This is also the market where Dong Nai imports a lot of agricultural products such as raw cashew nuts, animal feed ingredients, timber...

Recently, due to the economic recession, the cashew processing and export industry in the province has faced many challenges, because they have to import raw cashew from Africa through intermediaries, so ensuring a stable import source is difficult. Transporting raw materials from Africa is also inconvenient because the number of cargo ships is small, and without a direct route to Vietnam, these ships must go through intermediaries, leading to long shipping times. The quality of imported cashew products is difficult to control because raw material contracts are only binding on cashew's moisture and if they are mold-free.

Mr. Thang proposed: "Hopefully the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassies in African countries will have open and supportive policies, creating conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to officially import agricultural products such as cashew from Africa. Support localities to capture information on demand for goods, quality, and product prices of each market to promote agricultural export activities into this new potential market."

Author: Binh Nguyen

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