Advising on the export of Vietnamese spices to the Middle East market

DNHN - The Trade Promotion Agency collaborated with the Vietnamese Trade Offices in the Middle East and Africa to hold a consulting session on spices exporting to these regions.

The Middle East and Africa area is now seen as a prospective market block with relatively significant import demand that does not need tight quality criteria. Promoting the export of commodities in general, and spices in particular, to this new market with enormous potential is an appropriate route for Vietnamese businesses.

Previously, Vietnamese firms mostly imported petroleum, cashew nuts, and plastic... from the Middle East and Africa, and exported to the area rice, coffee, pepper, seafood, machinery and equipment, electronics, textiles, and footwear. In Africa, there are nations situated deep inside the continent that are afflicted by the desert environment in West and Central Africa, making it difficult to grow and produce food, resulting in a high need for imports. As a result, there are several chances for Vietnamese businesses to sell agricultural goods, food, and vegetables to Africa.

On July 27, 2022, the Trade Promotion Department, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Trade Offices in the Middle East and Africa countries, held a consultation session on exporting spices to this market to assist Vietnamese localities, businesses, and cooperatives in finding partners, connecting business opportunities, and exporting spices to markets in the Middle East and Africa. The event will be hosted in Dong Nai, combined online on the Zoom platform, and distributed through the Department of Trade Promotion's Facebook fan page.

During the consultation session, a representative from the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) will address the supply of Vietnamese pepper goods, the intended export market, and certain concerns concerning the export promotion of Vietnamese pepper products to the global market.

Furthermore, market experts will provide updates on the spice market situation in some Middle East - Africa countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, South Africa); issues of access, application of regulations, standards, conditions for importing spice products, and some other things to know when trading spice products with these markets.

Although the potential remains enormous, many organizations face the same dangers when exporting to the Middle East and African markets, including payment risks such as numerous late payment partners, bankruptcy, and currency rate risk. Furthermore, Vietnamese exporters face risks in sales contract disputes such as volume, the weight of products, delivery time, and disputes connected to the topic of the contract signed by the person signing the contract. The contract has no import capability.

Vietnamese exporters should extensively investigate their trading partners to minimise risks, including transaction history, reputation, size and solvency, guarantor bank, and development bank L/C... At the same time, one should be sceptical of too appealing bargains and seek information from the Vietnam Trade Offices in the Middle East and Africa, as well as the host country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

PV