Algeria is conducting all the necessary procedures to export dates to Viet Nam. In particular, some Algerian enterprises have found Vietnamese partners to negotiate conditions to distribute this fruit to Viet Nam.

The statement was made by a representative of Algeria’s Ministry of Agriculture at the third international exhibition on dates, which opened on Saturday in Biskra Province -- one of the localities with the strongest agriculture sector in Algeria.

The three-day event introduces high-grade dates harvested in oases in southern Algeria, including the popular one -- Deglet Nour. It also features items made from dates, such as date jam, date honey, handicrafts made from date palm (furniture and jewellery) and the region’s agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, cattle, milk and dairy products. In addition, the exhibition also introduced equipment for agriculture, livestock and cultivation.

Sadek Khalil, director of the Biskra Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the expo drew a lot of enterprises from African, European and Asian nations with the main goal of promoting agri-products and seeking trade partners.

According to statistics, Algeria exports some one million tonnes of dates annually, ranking fourth in the world in terms of total output (making up some 14 per cent), after Iran, Egypt and Tunisia. However, the total output of Algeria’s export dates ranks only eighth and is equivalent to one-sixth of Tunisia’s output -- the world’s largest producer and exporter of dates.

The dates exhibition attracted the participation of 160 Algerian and foreign firms, as well as diplomatic organisations, including the Embassy of Viet Nam in Algeria. — VNS