HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese should take the initiative to join business forums and participate in trade fairs and exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to understand the market, experts have said.

Besides this, Vietnamese trade offices abroad, including those in the UAE, need to provide enterprises with the latest market information on specific products they can offer consumers, Director of HCM City Trade and Investment Promotion Centre Đinh Thiết Hòa, said.

In order to tap into the market successfully, Vietnamese firms should pay attention to the preservation of goods to ensure their quality, while establishing effective supply chains which connect farmers, traders and logistics service providers, Đinh Công Tuấn, General Manager of Việt Nam-Dubai Tradehub (Vietgate) Co, which helps Vietnamese firms ship products to Dubai in UAE, said.

The UAE was described as a lucrative market for Vietnamese goods thanks to strong economic growth, low import taxes and huge consumption demand.

According to the Vietnamese Embassy in the UAE, bilateral trade between Việt Nam and the bloc topped US$6.2 billion in 2015 and was likely to grow 20-22 per cent this year.

Viet Nam’s major exports to the bloc included pepper, rice and coffee, followed by electronics and computer spare parts, textiles and garments, shoes and footwear, and seafood products.

Phạm Trung Nghĩa, commercial counselor and head of Việt Nam’s Trade Office in Dubai, said Việt Nam’s agricultural products were increasingly winning the hearts of UAE consumers, with the Vietnamese dragon fruit dominant in the UAE market. Vietnamese bananas and pineapples were also increasingly being ordered. -VNS