Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that total two-way trade between Vietnam and the UAE has reached US$809 million in the first two months of this year, up 58% over the same period in 2020.
Of which, export turnover from Vietnam to the UAE reached approximately US$737 million, up nearly 60%,and imports reached US$72 million, up 44%.
In terms of export structure, phones and accessories are still the main export items of Vietnam to this market, reaching US$551 million, up nearly 108% over the same period last year and accounting for two third of total export turnover.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, export of goods such as footwear and textiles has decreased, reaching US$14 million and US$11 million, down 23% and 11%, respectively.
However, agricultural and aquatic products all grew positively. Specifically, cashew nuts reached US$10.3 million, an increase of nearly 6 times over the same period last year. In addition, seafood products hit US$10.6 million, up 18%; fruit and vegetable products hit US$7.5 million, up 12%; and pepper hit US$4.8 million, up 17%.
In terms of import structure, plastic raw materials are the main import item from this Middle Eastern country, reaching US$$41.8 million, up 66% over the same period last year, followed by animal feed and raw materials (US$8.7 million, up 9%). Among these imports, only petroleum products saw a decrease in turnover, reaching only US$2.5 million in the first two months of 2021.
