Rice is Vietnams No. 1 commodity exported to Africa

Agricultural products are Vietnam’s key export commodity group to Africa in recent years, in which rice is the commodity with the largest export value.

Rice is the main export commodity of Vietnam to Africa

At the recent online conference with the theme "Africa - a promising destination for Vietnam's trade promotion activities", as shared by Mr. Le Hoang Tai, Deputy Director of Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam has established trade relations with all 54 countries in Africa, and two-way trade between Vietnam and the region has experienced positive growth over the years. In 2020, the import-export turnover between Vietnam and Africa has reached USD 6.7 billion.

Information from the Asia-Africa Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), shows that agricultural products are the main group of goods exported to Africa. Among them, rice is the most important commodity. In 2020, Vietnamese rice exports to Africa reached USD 596.1 million, accounting for 19% of Vietnam's total rice export value and accounting for more than 19% of the total value of goods exports to Africa. Therefore, rice is also the No. 1 export item of Vietnam to Africa.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the demand for rice in Africa is increasing, especially in the context of the epidemic severely affecting production, so the issue of ensuring food security is of top priority to the Government of African countries. Meanwhile, local production only meets 60% of demand. Vietnamese rice can boost exports to African countries, especially Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mozambique...

Next are other agricultural products such as coffee, pepper,… which have great demand in Africa since the production in this continent is insufficient. Every year, Africa spends about USD 750 million to import coffee. Specifically, Vietnam is one of the five main supply markets. In addition to exporting green coffee, a number of Vietnamese processed coffee brands such as Trung Nguyen and King Coffee have also started to gain attention and are penetrating this area.

Aquatic products, especially freshwater fishes, are also increasingly popular among Africans due to the change in meat consumption habits to aquatic products. Mr. Hoang Duc Nhuan, Trade Counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria, said that this country imports many food products, consumer goods, agricultural products (rice, spices of all kinds including pepper, cashew nuts...), aquatic products (tra fish, basa fillet, raw tuna). The price of aquatic products in this market is quite high, so those imported from Vietnam possess good competitiveness.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, in charge of the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt, although being an exporter of agricultural products, Egypt is currently reducing the production of water-consuming crops, so the country has to import many agricultural products such as rice and vegetables. In addition, this market also has great demand for unprocessed nuts such as pepper, cashew ...

In accordance with the evaluation of Mr. Le Hoang Tai, with the geographical advantage of having an over 30 million square kilometers area, a population of about 1.3 billion people and high import demand for a variety of products suitable for Vietnam’s key export products, especially agricultural products, the African market block really holds great potential for Vietnamese businesses.

However, apart from making the most of traditional markets, the expansion and development of trade cooperation with potential new markets in Africa are some of the solutions that Vietnam should aim for in the coming time.