African rice buyers meet in HCM City

HCM CITY — Representatives from 14 central and west African countries have established direct ties with rice exporters in Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Laos through a three-day meeting that began yesterday in HCM City.

The rice buyer-seller conference has been organised under the framework of a programme to promote trade between French-speaking countries in Africa and the Mekong region by the Organisation of French Speaking World (OIF) and the International Trade Center.

The African nations are represented by the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

“This is a very important meeting,” said Doan Duy Khuong, vice president of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI), which is helping organise the event.

“Africa is a promising market for Vietnamese rice, but sales to the region have been facing various difficulties like high transport costs, small orders, and payment delays,” he said.

Further, most Vietnamese rice exporters to Africa were small-and-medium-sized enterprises who lacked information about the market, buyers or banks there, and thus had to sell through agents, he said.

This conference offered both buyers and sellers an opportunity to reduce indirect deals and lower prices to more acceptable levels for the former and increase profits for the latter, he added.

Tharcisee Urayeneza, OIF’s director for sustainable development, concurred with Khuong, calling for closer co-operation to overcome obstacles and set up direct relations for mutual benefit.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang said rice production could reach 39 million tonnes this year and more than 5 million tonnes could be exported. Viet Nam had shipped over 1 million tonnes to Africa this year, a fourth of its total rice exports.

Last year sales to UEMOA countries were worth US$51 million and in the first nine months of this year, $121 million.

Shipments to CEMAC were valued at $26 million last year and $30 million this year.

Macaria Barai of Guinea Bissau, vice president for Sub-Regional International Co-operation and Integration of UEMOA, said her country imported around 70,000 tonnes, or half of its needs, usually from Thailand and Indonesia.

It wanted to restructure its imports now, with half the volume coming from Viet Nam whose prices were more competitive, she said.

VCCI also concluded a co-operation agreement with Guinea Bissau’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture yesterday.

The three-day conference will continue to discuss the rice demand and supply of the related countries and plans to boost rice trading. Meetings between businesses are also scheduled. —