Coffee, seafood and many other agricultural products of Viet Nam are seeing a chance to present more in the Algerian market as the demand for these foods there always remains high.

Vietnamese farm products favored by Algerians

According to the Viet Nam Trade Office in Algeria, concurrently in charge of Gambia, Mali, Niger and Senegal, Viet Nam’s export turnover to Algeria reached US$82.96 million in the first half of 2020, down 16.4% over the same period last year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, in general, Vietnamese farm products, such as coffee, pepper, seafood and rice, are still being favored in the Algerian market.

Specifically, coffee still accounted for the largest share of Viet Nam’s total export value to this North African market during the January-June period with 71%. Thus, together with tea, coffee has become an increasingly popular hot beverage of Algerian people. 

In the country, coffee is considered an essential product besides other foods such as bread, cooking oil, sugar, and milk. Algeria imports about 130,000 tons of coffee beans of various types each year, with more than half of the volume usually supplied by Viet Nam.

In 2019, Viet Nam exported coffee to 13 African countries raking in US$153 million in total revenue, of which Algeria accounted for US$111 million. The majority of coffee imports into Algeria is raw coffee (unroasted and undecaffeinated). About 80% of coffee imports into the market is Robusta coffee and 20% is Arabica coffee.

Meanwhile, marine products are always among the top five largest export items of Viet Nam to Algeria, with an annual turnover of US$9-10 million. 

Last year, Viet Nam’s fishery export revenue to the North African market stood at US$11 million. The main export products were tra fish, basa fish filet and raw tuna.

Every November, Algeria hosts an international fair for fisheries and aquaculture in Oran. The country is still continuing to call on international investors, including Vietnamese enterprises, to cooperate and make investment in this field. 

Algeria’s aquaculture industry, especially freshwater fish, still remains underdeveloped, forcing it to import products from foreign countries to meet domestic demands. 

Moreover, in recent years, the number of foreign workers in Algeria has been on the rise, contributing to the growing demand for marine products. 

On the other hand, catfish is considered to have low cholesterol and is sold at affordable prices, thus opening opportunities for Vietnamese marine products to penetrate into the market.

According to the Viet Nam Trade Office in Algeria, the commodities that meet competitive conditions in terms of prices and ensure quality will stand a clearer chance to be present in the North African market.