Increasing Vietnamese goods in Africa

Expansion

Lumitel (Viettel’s brand in Burundi) had 1.6 million subscribers in March 2016, ranking first in its market after 10 months of operations, while Viettel had one million users after three months of presence in Tanzania.

According to a Viettel Global report, Viettel inaugurated their shops in 2015 in three big markets of Cameroon, Burundi and Tanzania, which have a total population of more than 80 million. Thanks to the expansion, Viettel has increased its international investment scale to include 10 countries with 270 million people, a three-fold increase compared to the Vietnamese population.

Viettel, one of outstanding Vietnamese brands, has well expanded in the African market in recent years, meaning that Vietnamese goods are able to control the market.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s African, Western and Southern Asia Markets Department Director Vu Quang Huy said that although facing complex developments in numerous aspects, trade turnover between Vietnam and African countries has witnessed encouraging results over the years with main items being phones, rice and seafood.

Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade Deputy Director Tran Thi Phuong Lan said that Africa is an ideal destination for developing countries like Vietnam due to its production standard and capacity.

As a result of efforts made by the government and the business community, trade between Vietnam and African, Western and Southern Asian countries has achieved progress. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s statistics, this figure reached around US$25 billion in 2015. South Africa was Vietnam’s largest export market in Africa in 2015 with trade turnover of around US$1.1 billion, an increase of 38.5 percent compared to a year ago.

Africa is seen as one of important markets for Vietnamese goods in the following years as economic growth will lead to an increase in consumer demand, especially in garments and textiles, footwear and rice, which are Vietnam’s advantages. In addition, Africa’s requirements in terms of product quality are not high, while Vietnamese goods have initially gained consumer trust.

Strengthening trade promotion

Although trade relations between Vietnam and African, Western and Southern Asian countries have been strongly improved in recent times, market domination is not simple because other exporters will also drive towards easy markets in the context of facing difficulties. For example, Vietnam’s rice exports to Africa recorded strong growth in 2012 and 2013 at the segment of low and medium quality. However Vietnamese rice faced fierce competition against Indian and Thai rice in 2014.

In addition, promoting links and cooperation among Vietnamese businesses have been missing. Many businesses have not adopted directions, strategies and solutions to promote trade and develop their brands. In addition, Vietnamese enterprises need to be aware of commercial fraud via the internet within the region.

The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade sent 10 businesses in electronics, silk, ceramics, toiletries, confectionery and beverages to the 23rd Southern African International Trade Exhibition for Retail Products (SAITEX) held in South Africa’s Johannesburg. The event offered opportunities for Hanoi’s businesses to show their products.

The Tan Viet Investment Group plans to expand its distribution system to South Africa and African countries, contributing to promoting Vietnamese goods.

Strengthening trade promotion activities is an important solution to help Vietnamese goods maintain their position in the African market. Vu Quang Huy said that activities will be implemented to improve bilateral cooperation, enhance trade promotion and provide market updates in order to support businesses in export to Africa.

Phuong Lan