Vietnamese export companies will have opportunities to set up distribution channels in the Middle East thanks to a market research programme launched by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre in HCM City and the Vietnamese Embassy’s Commercial Affair Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The research will be carried out from March 4-9 this year. It aims to help rice, food and fruit exporters seek opportunities in Middle Eastern nations.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, trade between Viet Nam and the Middle East reached US$12.8 billion in 2017, up 17.4 per cent from 2016.

Viet Nam’s main exports were mobile phones, computers and accessories, seafood, footwear, garment and textiles, fibre, rice, pepper, wood products, cashew nuts, natural rubber, vegetables and fruit and coffee beans.

The country mostly imported materials for domestic production, such as plastic, liquefied gas, electronic spare parts, machines and animal feed, from the Middle East. — VNS