Besides traditional markets such as China, the EU, the US, and Australia, many Vietnamese agricultural products are receiving strong support from other potential markets such as Algeria and Turkey. This will be an opportunity for businesses to expand their export markets, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic still being complicated.  Expanding opportunities According to Mr. Hoang Duc Nhuan, the Vietnamese trade counselor in Algeria and concurrently in charge of Gambia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia, coffee is the most popular drink among Algerians. On average, a person consumes more than 3kg/year. Annually, Algeria imports about 130,000 tons of coffee beans of various types with a value of 300 million USD. The Robusta coffee variety accounts for the majority of the total coffee import turnover of Algeria (more than 85%). The main coffee exporting countries to Algeria are Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Brazil, and Italy. For many years, coffee has always been Vietnam's leading export item to Algeria. Vietnam's coffee market share usually maintains the highest level, accounting for more than 50%. However, Algeria is still a market with much potential for Vietnamese coffee. Besides bulk coffee, Vietnamese businesses can promote the export of processed and instant coffee with higher added value. Regarding rice, Algeria does not produce rice, so this item is almost 100% imported. Algeria imports about 100,000 tons of rice annually. In terms of types, imported rice is mainly white, long-grain, 5% broken rice, and parboiled rice. According to evaluations, this market still holds prospects for Vietnamese rice as people are familiar with using Vietnamese rice. Moreover, the number of Asian workers in Algeria is increasing, especially Chinese people. The number of Vietnamese workers working for Chinese, Japanese, French, and Algerian contractors has reached over 4,000 people. This will contribute to increasing the demand for rice in the Algerian market. Additionally, the demand for importing spices, especially pepper, in Algeria is quite high because this country does not produce them. Cinnamon is also a Vietnamese product with export potential to Algeria. In 2020, Vietnam exported this item to Algeria with a turnover of 2.1 million USD. For the Turkish market, according to data published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in the first 6 months of 2021, Turkey imported 3,764.1 tons of black pepper, valued at over 7.21 million USD, an increase of 9.4% in volume and 13.6% in value. Among them, Vietnam continues to be the country with the largest export volume to this market with 2,236.3 tons, achieving a turnover of over 4.32 million USD, a strong increase in both volume and value (27.6% in volume and 37.1% in value), accounting for nearly 60% of the export value market share to Turkey in the first 6 months of 2021. Regarding coffee, in the first 6 months of this year, Vietnam ranked 9th in coffee exports to Turkey. However, in reality, the quantity is still extremely limited, only about 103 tons with a value of 192.46 thousand USD, a sharp decrease of 55.2% in value compared to the first 6 months of 2020, accounting for only 0.2% of the export turnover of coffee beans to Turkey. In the future, opportunities will open up for Vietnamese businesses with the capacity to produce Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Identifying key export items A representative of the Vietnamese Trade Office in Turkey said that Turkey is also a large tea-consuming market, but mainly black tea. Meanwhile, Vietnam diversifies more in green tea than black tea, so the export volume of Vietnamese tea to Turkey is not high. Moreover, Vietnamese tea businesses have not focused on exporting to this market. If they want to increase turnover, businesses need to identify black tea as a key item to exploit in the future. Regarding rice, in the first 6 months of 2021, Turkey also increased rice imports from Vietnam with 1,798 tons of rice, valued at over 1.29 million USD. This figure is still quite low, and currently, the Turkish market mainly distributes two specialty rice types from Thailand and India, Jasmine and Basmati. Part of the reason is that trade promotion activities have not been focused on by Vietnamese rice export businesses, while Thailand has invited all rice production and business enterprises to visit their producers. For the Algerian market in particular and Africa in general, the Vietnamese trade counselor in Algeria (also in charge of Gambia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Tunisia) Hoang Duc Nhuan believes: With a total population of about 1.3 billion people, diverse demand, not too strict, the African market still has much potential for Vietnamese agricultural export businesses to exploit and conquer. Businesses should seek partners through channels such as participating in trade promotion programs, attending fairs, international exhibitions, business forums, direct trade exchanges, through introductions from trade promotion agencies, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Africa, and familiar partners. In the last months of 2021, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Algeria will organize exhibitions and introduce Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products as well as catalogs, samples, and publications of Vietnam; Organize online seminars to introduce the markets of Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Mali, Gambia, and Niger for Vietnamese businesses; Publish a business handbook with the Algerian market; Continue to provide market information, business opportunities, and connect businesses in the agricultural and aquatic fields for Vietnamese businesses... Source: Nhan dan online