Despite significant progress in bilateral trade during the period 2009 to 2012, two-way trade volume in 2013 tapered off sharply by 24% compared to 2012 on the back of political unrest that erupted in Egypt.
However, with this latest good news, leading government economists and market analysts are now optimistically forecasting that Vietnamese exports to Egypt have bottomed out and are now on the rebound, expected to exceed more than US$200 million for 2014.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade reports Vietnamese export earnings from Egypt were US$221.61 million, US$297.14 million and US$256.09 million in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
On the flip side, Egypt’s exports to Vietnam also fell sharply from US$14.4 million in 2011 to US$7.55 million in 2012 and US$8.73 million in 2013.
Egypt is a highly lucrative potential market with more than 85 million consumers. Last year, the African nation spent roughly US$59.22 billion on importing machinary, equipment, food, chemicals, wood and fuels, a market that Vietnamese businesses savour.
In the first four months of 2014, seafood and agricultural products topped the list of Vietnamese exports to Egypt with a value of US$28.94 million, accounting for 35.5% of total market share.
Textile, fibre and garment exports surged 27 folds against the comparable period in 2013 to US$11.46 million. Other products also experiencing high growth included steel (up 184% to US$1.58 million), means of transport (up 59% to US$4.67 million) and machines, equipment and tools (up 10.2% to US$4.26 million).
In the first quarter of this year, Egyptian exports to Vietnam hit around US$2.1 million, substantially unchanged from the same period last year, primarily consisting of garment, leather and footwear accessories, ore and minerals, pharmaceuticals, milk and dairy products, fibre, and petroleum products.
In late October 2013, the Egyptian Government approved an economic stimulus package worth US$3.2 billion, aimed at helping its economy rebound. It is hoped that this legislation will spillover and materialize in a substantial bump in bilateral trade between Vietnam and Egypt in the coming time.
According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Egypt, Vietnamese businesses should revise their marketing strategies to attract new business in Egypt, including boosting the number of trade promotions.
Although Egypt has not superimposed strict requirements on imports, goods exported to the market must jump through some fairly rigorous quality standards, which Vietnamese business need to be keenly aware of, the office reports.
Vietnam and Egypt have in the past entered into a series of economic agreements, such as a Trade Agreement in May 1994, an Aviation Agreement in April 1999, an Investment Encouragement and Protection Agreement in February 2004, a memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation in 2006 and an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement in 2006.
