Viet Nam’s exports to Algeria continued to grow by 29 per cent year-on-year to US$208 million in the first seven months of 2017, according to the General Department of Customs.

Coffee remained the largest earner, which saw a shipment of over 35,300 tonnes for about $76 million (up 12.8 per cent), followed by telephones and spare parts valued at $58 million (up 5 per cent).

Rice came third with exports worth of over $10 million, jumping five-fold from the same period last year.

Algeria is now Viet Nam’s second largest importer in Africa, after South Africa.

Viet Nam’s shipments to Algeria were estimated at $271.42 million in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 37 per cent, with most of the revenue also coming from coffee and rice.

Last year, Viet Nam’s trade office in Algeria organised an array of trade promotion activities, including five workshops on bilateral trade potential. It also assisted two delegations of Vietnamese businesses to attend international fairs and stepped up communication activities, such as publishing business news bulletins in French.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also sent staff to Algeria to work with local ministries and agencies there, seeking ways to boost cooperation in the future.

Viet Nam-Algeria economic cooperation prospects are said to be plentiful, with Algerian consumers familiar with the Vietnamese goods, while Algerian animal feed, medicine and natural minerals are sold in Viet Nam.

In terms of investment, the Bir-Seba gas and oil joint venture between Petro Viet Nam, Sonatrach (Algeria) and PTT (Thailand) became operational in 2015, producing 18,000 barrels each day. — VNS