Egypt is a new but potential market for Vietnamese seafood, including tra and basa catfish.

Egypt consumes around 2 million tonnes of seafood each year, around 30,000 tonnes of which are imported. Main imported items are mackerel and herring cod fish, tra and basa catfish and shrimp.

In recent years, the Vietnamese business office in Egypt has worked closely with domestic seafood exporters to introduce its products to the market. There are good signs that Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries are keen to import Vietnamese seafood products. Many businesses have recently contacted the Vietnamese business office to seek information on seafood, especially tra and basa catfish and shrimp. “Seafood from Vietnam” is rather popular among Egyptian customers.

Vietnamese tra and basa catfish and shrimp products are currently available in both big and small supermarkets across Egypt. Giza is Egypt’s biggest fish market with hundreds of kinds of fish products, including Vietnamese catfish and shrimp. This shows that Vietnamese catfish products are able to compete with those from other countries to secure a foothold in Egypt.

Regarding Vietnam’s tra and basa catfish, Ahmed Hamed Ahmed shop owner in the Giza market says “Egyptian consumers like Vietnamese tra and basa catfish very much due to their cheap prices, high quality and being easy to cook. Each day, I can sell from 20-30 kilos of basa and up to 800 kilos per month. These products sell widely in Cairo and other big cities in Egypt.

This is good news for Vietnamese seafood exporters. However, to avoid suffering economic losses they have been asked by Vietnam’s trade office in Egypt to prepare all documents necessary to ensure hygiene and safety, standards in line with the existing regulations on export items.

Although Egypt has paid special attention to anti-dumping lawsuits, the government encourages the import of seafood products. Therefore, these products are subject to zero-tariff rates. This is also an advantage for Vietnam’s seafood exporters.