According to the Asia-Africa Market Department, import-export activities with the Asia-Africa region are increasingly showing diversification. In addition to traditional markets such as ASEAN, Korea, Japan, China, new markets and niche markets such as Africa and the Middle East are also being promoted and exploited well.

Many of Vietnam's key products are also in high demand in the Asia-Africa market. For example, in 2023, Vietnam's rice exports to the Asia-Africa region will reach more than 7.2 million tons, with an export turnover of more than 4 billion USD.

In the first four months of 2024 alone, Vietnam's rice exports to this region continued to record growth, reaching 1.8 billion USD, a sharp increase of 34%. Notably, the Philippines is still Vietnam's largest rice import market, accounting for 46.4% of the total volume and 45.5% of the country's total rice export turnover.

In 2023, Vietnam's longan export turnover to the region will reach more than 14 million USD, an increase of nearly 2.5 times compared to 2022. China, Australia, Thailand, and Japan are the markets that consume the most Vietnamese longans.

Regarding lychees, China is still Vietnam's largest lychee consumer market. In 2023, more than 100,000 tons of lychees were exported to China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia; UAE, Singapore, the Middle East, Thailand, and Hong Kong (China).

Regarding seafood, in the first 4 months of 2024 alone, Vietnam's seafood exports to the Asia-Africa region reached 1.5 billion USD. China and Japan are Vietnam's largest import markets for seafood products.

In ASEAN, countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore have a high demand for tra fish, basa fish, cephalopods, shrimp, and crabs. Africa and West Asia, such as Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the UAE, are considered markets with much room for Vietnamese seafood.

In addition, the Asia-Africa region is also the leading import market for Vietnam's key industrial products such as: computer components; phones of all kinds and components; textiles, footwear of all kinds; wood and wood products.

Many key Vietnamese products still have great potential for development in the Asia-Africa market, such as fruits and vegetables. Currently, 60% of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables are exported to China, while the market share of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in other markets is still small and modest.

The Asia-Africa Market Department recommends that, in order to boost exports to potential markets, localities need to continue to promote the building of distinctive brands for products with strengths. It is necessary to build a list of enterprises producing and trading agricultural products and fruits in the area with sufficient export capacity and send it to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to facilitate the work of connecting with importers.

For the traditional Chinese market, according to the Asia-Africa Market Department, localities should study the possibility of coordinating with ministries, functional agencies, associations and reputable production and business enterprises of the province to organize annual trade promotion activities. Especially in large potential markets with much room for the province's strong products in China such as: Beijing, Hebei, Hunan, Shandong, Sichuan...

It is necessary to study the possibility of cooperation with foreign enterprises such as China, Japan, Korea, Australia, ASEAN in product packaging. The demand for product design is always the top concern of consumers in these markets besides product quality.

“Enterprises need to continue investing in conversion or attracting investment in deep processing in the context of the increasing trend of using deeply processed products in the world and the Asia-Africa market region. Thereby, increasing export value, catching up with market trends,” the Asia-Africa Market Department recommended.

Ha Anh