Vietnam sees Egypt potential market for agro-forestry, fisheries

Vietnamese businesses can open their representative offices and ask for licences for aquaculture and agro-forestry and fisheries product processing in Egypt to benefit from the country’s export preferential policies to other Middle East markets, said an Egyptian official.

Addressing a seminar on enhancing Vietnam-Egypt agro-fisheries cooperation held in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Head of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s External Relations Section Hosam Baharia said two-way trade will increase fast as Egypt has a big demand for coffee, tea and other farm products and Vietnam’s high-quality and diversified products will meet Egyptian consumers’ different tastes.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said that two-way trade between the two countries recorded a year-on-year rise of 24 percent to more than US$200 million  last year with Vietnam ’s seafood exports making a large proportion.

In the context of the global economic crisis and unfavourable information on Vietnam ’s seafood quality in Egypt in the past, the increase is a positive sign of the two countries’ cooperation potential, reflecting Vietnam ’s seafood quality and prestige to Egyptian consumers, Tan said.

The result was attributable to the exchange of information and working delegations and other trade promotion activities, he said.

He went on to say that Egypt highly valued Vietnam ’s environmental-friendly agro-forestry and fisheries production process that meets quality and hygienic safety requirements.

Apart from fisheries, Vietnamese businesses expect that their cashew nuts, pepper and coffee will penetrate Egypt with a population of around 85 million people and other Middle East markets.

Vietnam ’s agro-forestry and fisheries export revenues has increased over recent years to almost US$16.5 billion by the end of 2009. Vietnam ’s seafood has been exported to more than 150 countries and territories. However, Vietnam ’s agro-forestry and fisheries market-share at Northern Africa, especially Egypt , remained modest and failed to meet the two countries’ potential and demand.

While in Cairo from Sept. 25-28, a number of Vietnamese businesses participated in the Agriculture and Food International Exhibition in Cair

 

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Vietnam sees Egypt potential market for agro-forestry, fisheries

Vietnamese businesses can open their representative offices and ask for
licences for aquaculture and agro-forestry and fisheries product
processing in Egypt to benefit from the country’s export preferential
policies to other Middle East markets, said an Egyptian official.

Addressing a seminar on enhancing Vietnam-Egypt
agro-fisheries cooperation held in Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 26, Head of
the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s External Relations
Section Hosam Baharia said two-way trade will increase fast as Egypt has
a big demand for coffee, tea and other farm products and Vietnam’s
high-quality and diversified products will meet Egyptian consumers’
different tastes.

For his part, Deputy Minister
of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said that two-way
trade between the two countries recorded a year-on-year rise of 24
percent to more than 200 million USD last year with Vietnam ’s
seafood exports making a large proportion.

In
the context of the global economic crisis and unfavourable information
on Vietnam ’s seafood quality in Egypt in the past, the increase is a
positive sign of the two countries’ cooperation potential, reflecting
Vietnam ’s seafood quality and prestige to Egyptian consumers, Tan
said.

The result was attributable to the
exchange of information and working delegations and other trade
promotion activities, he said.

He went on to say
that Egypt highly valued Vietnam ’s environmental-friendly
agro-forestry and fisheries production process that meets quality and
hygienic safety requirements.

Apart from
fisheries, Vietnamese businesses expect that their cashew nuts, pepper
and coffee will penetrate Egypt with a population of around 85 million
people and other Middle East markets.

Vietnam ’s agro-forestry and fisheries export revenues has increased
over recent years to almost 16.5 billion USD by the end of 2009.
Vietnam ’s seafood has been exported to more than 150 countries and
territories. However, Vietnam ’s agro-forestry and fisheries
market-share at Northern Africa, especially Egypt , remained modest
and failed to meet the two countries’ potential and demand.

While in Cairo from Sept. 25-28, a number of Vietnamese
businesses participated in the Agriculture and Food International
Exhibition in Cairo./.

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Vietnam’s tra fish export to Egypt still down

HCMC – Tra fish, the biggest contributor of Vietnam’s seafood export to Egypt over the last three years, has seen a steady fall in shipments there since last year due to a groundless rumor about contamination.

Dang Ngoc Quang, Vietnam’s trade counselor in Egypt, told a conference in HCMC last week on ways to export to Africa, that the dip in Vietnam’s tra export to Egypt had shown no signs of abating since early 2009 after Al Ahram, an Egyptian newspaper, carried an inaccurate report on contamination at Vietnamese fish farms.

The news report then resulted in a suspension of licensing Vietnamese tra export to Egypt. The rumor later was rejected by the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and the issuance of licenses was then reinstated by the Egyptian embassy in Vietnam.    

The impact of the rumor, however, is still lingering and causing Egyptian consumers to shun the Vietnamese product, leading to a sharp decline in Vietnamese tra export to Egypt which consumes millions of tons of seafood per year.  

Tra accounts for 87% of Vietnam’s US$63 million seafood exports to Egypt in 2008 and 73% of US$59 million in 2009. However, tra imports from Vietnam are on the decrease, with the proportion of the fish in the US$25 million seafood export there in the first six months of the year dropping to 65%.

Quang said some Egyptian businesses recommended a publicity campaign to dispel worries about the safety of Vietnam’s tra fish. Besides, Vietnamese exporters should boost the export of well trimmed tra fish, a high quality product, to the Egyptian market, instead of low-priced products.  

Despite the fall in tra fish exports, shipments of other seafoods to the market are improving, including shrimp, tuna, sailfish, cuttlefish, crab and oyster. Statistics provided by Quang show shrimp accounted for only 11% of the country’s US$63 million seafood exports to Egypt in 2008, but the figure rose to 31% in the first half of 2010.    

Seafood is considered Vietnam’s leading export to Egypt, accounting for one third of total exports to this African market.

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