The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement officially commenced at the beginning of 2021, as participating member states established a single market covering both trade and investment with a combined GDP of USD 3.4 trillion.

The AfCFTA aims to reduce non-tariff barriers, liberalize trade in services, develop mutual recognition of standards, promote inclusive and sustainable development, and facilitate the movement of capital and people between countries. In addition, the AfCFTA is structured in stages, meaning it will evolve over time.

According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), once fully implemented, the AfCFTA has the potential to increase intra- African trade by 52.3% compared to the time before the signing of the Agreement.

According to the Asia-Africa Market Department, over the past decade, trade exchange between Vietnam and Africa has more than doubled, from just USD 2.52 billion in 2010 to USD 5.5 billion in 2022.

In which, Vietnam's export turnover to Africa reached USD 2.8 billion USD, Vietnam's import value from Africa reached USD 2.6 billion, trade surplus reached USD 226.3 million.

The main export commodity groups include rice with USD 568.6 million; phones and components with USD 355.6 million; computers, electronic products and components with USD 210.4 million; footwear of all kinds with USD 141.8 million; coffee with USD 131 million; textile and garment products with USD 129 million; seafood with USD 60.3 million.

The main import commodity groups include cashew nuts reaching USD 1.1 billion; other common metals reached USD 484.1 million; timber and wood products reached USD 114.3 million; vegetables and fruits reached USD 64.1 million; cotton of all kinds reached USD 54.2 million

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the export potential to Africa is still very large because Vietnam only accounts for 0.6% of Africa's import market share of USD 600 billion USD. Moreover, with the advent of AfCFTA, Vietnam's trade with the African market may have many new opportunities.

The number of infrastructure projects in Africa financed by Chinese loans and US funding over the past decade or so will continue to increase. Therefore, it is likely that imported goods can penetrate deeper inland areas, especially into 15 landlocked African countries.

This opens up opportunities for Vietnamese goods to reach more markets, in the context that Vietnam's main export markets in Africa have so far been countries with large economies and convenient seaports for trade such as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria.

Kylie Nguyen