According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Egypt, some Egyptian importers often complain about the uneven quality of Vietnamese seafood. Some fails to pass food safety tests so customs clearance faces difficulties, resulting in more costs at the port, such as the costs of storage, refrigeration, etc. Egyptian importers have questioned about unstable offer prices; sometimes the price increases unreasonably. For that reason, the importers don’t pay up to receive the documents or let the cargo backlog at ports. This causes the fear, create strong downward pressure and cause losses for Vietnamese enterprises. Some importers even pressed Vietnamese enterprises to reduce to half the original asking price in the signed contract.
For commercial contracts, the terms of the contract signed by Vietnam are often very poorly drafted, do not specify the responsibilities of each party so Vietnamese businesses are vulnerable to difficulties. Most contracts do not define terms of complaints. So whenever a dispute occurs, the partners often directly deal with Vietnam Embassy in Egypt, causing many difficulties and obstacles while the Vietnamese Trade Office in Egypt supports two sides to resolve their problem.
So the Vietnamese Trade Office in Egypt and the Africa, West Asia, South Asia Market Department, recommend that Vietnam seafood enterprises should note the following points to avoid affecting seafood exports to Egypt: First, they need to ensure the stable quality of goods for export to avoid trouble when the authorities of Egypt inspect food safety. Second, when negotiating and signing a contract with Egyptian partners, enterprises should choose the method of delivery, method of payment without bringing advantages too inclined towards buyers, avoiding the fact the importers do not accept the products in order to squeeze discounts. Third, the contract must specify the agency to resolve dispute (arbitration or court) to provide a basis for resolving the dispute.
According to the Africa, West Asia, South Asia Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Egypt has huge demand for seafood. Demand for fish of Egypt in recent years is about 2 million tonnes / year, while its domestic supply cannot meet their needs. Seafood has always been the leading export items of Vietnam to Egypt. Except in 2013 due to the political influence so the supply of foreign currency for importers declined, seafood exports to Egypt tend to increase each year.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in 2013, exports of seafood to Egypt reached US$57.2 million. In the first 9 months of 2014, exports of this commodity to Egypt were equal to those in 2013, up 24 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), Vietnam's seafood exports to Egypt are mainly catfish coded 0304, shrimp of all kinds (especially fresh or frozen white leg shrimp, canned tuna and fish fillets.
Source: VCCI