Vietnam exports electronic, mechanical, plastic, and wood products, motorbikes and spare parts, cigarettes, vegetables, spices, and toys to 53 countries in the Middle East and Africa while importing plastic materials, gas, steel and chemical substances from these markets.

Since businesses had access to e-commerce, export-import turnover between Vietnam and countries in the Middle East and Africa has seen a sharp increase in recent years. Two-way trade reached US$1.5 billion in 2009, up by 20 percent compared to 2008.

Ly Quoc Hung, general director of the Africa, Western and South Asia Department under the MoIT says the Middle East and Africa are great potential markets for Vietnam as they have high demand for products readily-available in Vietnam.

Rice is currently Vietnam’s biggest export commodity, followed by textiles and garments, mechanical and pharmaceutical products, says Hung, adding that Vietnam will soon possess more export commodities for potential importers.

Vietnamese businesses have taken measures to boost trade promotions in international markets, especially in the Middle East and Africa. In addition to organizing fairs, opening representative offices and centres, they have taken advantage of e-commerce which will help them not only expand their markets but also save on expenses.

In order to assist export businesses, the MoIT has opened the Vietnam e-Commerce Portal (ECVN). ECVN focuses mostly on high-demand export commodities like farm products, textiles and garments, electronics, handicraft products, footwear, and seafood.

We have benefited much from e-commerce," says Nguyen Gia Hung from SECOIN Vietnam Construction Material Joint Stock Company. He says that e-commerce has helped his company expand business to many foreign markets across the world.

E-commerce sales have also been shown to increase profits. Online trading floors such as http://alibabba.com/, http://ebay.vn, and http://amazon.com have promoted their advertisement in Vietnam to attract more customers.

However, there have also been an increase in cases of fraud with use of e-commerce. It is critical for businesses to pay attention to import regulations like import taxes, licenses, records, standards for products, product test and payment methods.

Tran Dinh Toan, Vice General Director of OSB Investment and Technology Company, says businesses which want to participate in e-commerce should seek prestigious partners to avoid fraudulence.

According to economic experts, small- and medium-sized businesses should take the initiative to stay up to date with information about their products and participating in e-commerce is a critical trend in global integration.