VN-Africa cotton corporation conference held in Hà Nội

VGP - A conference on promoting cotton trade between Vietnamese businesses and West African partners has been held recently in Hà Nội, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

May 10, 2010 4:30 PM GMT+7

Delegates to the conference on promoting cotton trade between Vietnamese businesses and West African partners, Hà Nội, May 5-12, 2010

State officials and entrepreneurs from Việt Nam, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Senegal and Burkina Faso discussed methods of harvesting, semi-processing and storing cotton to reduce impurities and maintain quality of cotton, as well as payment methods to facilitate their trade.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Nam Hải suggested that businesses of the two sides should consider the possibilities for Việt Nam to build fiber making factories in African countries.

The conference is part of a program on cotton research, market study and experience sharing sponsored by the United Nations’ South-South Cooperation, ITC International Trading Center and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT).

It aims to help establish business relations between cotton producers and importers of Việt Nam and African countries to reduce transactions via intermediaries, enhance South-South cooperation between producers and importers of the two sides, and give the African side opportunities to understand Việt Nam’s garment and textile industry through visiting production establishments.

In 2009, Việt Nam spent US $90.2 million importing cotton from Africa, including 58% from Central and West African countries. The Việt Nam-Africa two-way trade value reached over US $2 billion last year, according to the MIT.

By Ngọc Vân