Africa-VN trade soars

During the first five months of 2013, Viet Nam exported 83,600 tonnes of rice to Angola (up 186 per cent), 68,800 tonnes to Cameroon (up 122 per cent), 34,400 tonnes to Mozambique (up 31.4 per cent), and 15,300 tonnes to Togo, a near seven-fold rise.—Photo doanhnhansaigon

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Vietnamese exports to Africa during the first half of the year registered growth of 41.7 per cent, the highest rate among the country's export markets, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Exports to Asian countries rose by 19.9 per cent, exports to Europe increased by 15.8 per cent and exports to the Americas grew by 7.2 per cent, according to a report released by the ministry on Monday.

The strong growth in exports to Africa is partly attributed to the increase in gold exports to South Africa.

In addition, data from the General Department of Customs shows that mobile phones and rice were two other major items Viet Nam exported to Africa.

Exports to South Africa, Viet Nam's largest export market in the continent, during the first five months totaled US$274.6 million, up 32 per cent year-on-year, with exports of cell phones and components reaching $168.5 million, a surge of more than 3.5 times year-on-year.

Since January, Viet Nam has had difficulty exporting rice to a number of African markets, such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal, due to competition of cheaper rice from India and Thailand, according to MoIT's Department of South West Asia and Africa Markets.

Still, rice exports to Africa in May grew more significantly than during the preceding months because African rice stockpiles had declined, prompting African countries to boost imports.