Seafood is one of Vietnam's strong export industries to the UK.

At the seminar “Exporting to the UK market: Strategy and how to find information” on October 30, Mr. Vu Viet Thanh, Department of European - American Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that after more than 3 years of implementing the Vietnam - UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), Vietnam's exports to the UK have grown continuously and stably.

LACK OF STRATEGY, MARKET INFORMATION

Total two-way trade turnover between the two countries grew by an average of 8.9% per year, of which Vietnam's exports to the UK grew by an average of 9.4% per year. This growth rate is much higher than the overall growth rate of Vietnam's exports.

The two countries' trade in goods increased by 18.8%, and of course also grew higher than the average of Vietnam to Europe. Vietnam's trade surplus with the UK in the first 9 months of 2024 was also at 5.1 billion USD, up 24% over the same period last year.

Currently, there are some important Vietnamese export products that are leading the UK market segment. For example, pepper, shelled cashew nuts, footwear, coffee, seafood are ranked 5th and garments are ranked 6th.

Not only that, Vietnamese enterprises have now made good use of the tariff incentives from the UKVFTA. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the rate of utilizing preferential C/O according to the form of this Agreement is currently over 30%, meaning steady growth over the years. Notably, a significant number of Vietnamese enterprises have matured significantly in accessing the UK market, meeting increasingly high standards of green consumption and sustainable development.

However, the market share of Vietnamese goods still accounts for very little in the total import volume into the UK. British consumers do not know much about Vietnamese brands. Brand recognition of Vietnamese goods in the UK market is still low.

Furthermore, we do not have reputable manufacturing enterprises to participate in the demanding market, while high logistics costs and negative impacts from climate change affect production and planning activities.

In addition, the localization rate is still low, goods are mainly exported raw, or businesses mainly do processing. In addition, raw materials for aviation production are unstable, deep processing technology only reaches 13-18%.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, former Counselor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UK, said that Vietnamese enterprises are increasingly dynamic, with skills in digital technology and digital marketing when approaching the UK market. However, there are still many enterprises with good products but unfamiliar with market approach methods and methods of searching for information on the market, forcing them to export through intermediary companies and brokerage companies.

One of the reasons is that businesses have not yet developed an effective strategy and method to search for and access information about markets and partners, especially after the UK left the EU.

 PROFESSIONAL MARKET RESEARCH

At the discussion, all opinions agreed that the UK market potential is still very large for Vietnamese goods. According to Mr. Thanh, not only UKVFTA, Vietnam and the UK are also members of CPTPP, which will open up new development space, especially in some fields. This will further facilitate Vietnamese business in the UK.

Therefore, to better exploit free trade agreements with the UK, when exporting and doing business in the UK market, businesses need to look up and thoroughly understand information about the market, trade, business data systems and tax payments... of the UK Government through the platforms of the UK Department of Business and Trade, the ITC trade map lookup tool to monitor the import and export situation as well as each industry and each specific item.

In addition, businesses can also search for market information through the FTA Portal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, through the Vietnamese trade office system abroad, etc.

Carefully assess customer and partner information before signing contracts or doing business, even if it is necessary to hire legal consultants or go through the Vietnamese trade system in the UK.

To improve the competitiveness of products, it is necessary to strictly control the entire production process, ensure traceability of origin, and ensure food hygiene and safety. Strengthen the application of science and technology, develop production systems, deep processing, and optimize the production cycle to increase the competitiveness of goods in the UK market - a leading large consumer market in the world.

Another point is to promote the linkage of production and supply chains from production to consumption and export. At the same time, research and seek partners to attract investment from British enterprises into specific production chains of enterprises, thereby taking advantage of capital and technology of partners.

On the other hand, it is necessary to clearly identify the product's market segment to conduct in-depth research on tastes and market trends to develop a methodical plan to capture the market.

In addition, Mr. Cuong emphasized that Vietnamese enterprises need to pay special attention to the requirements of sustainable development in the UK. For example, the UK requires no use of plastic packaging, transparency in the supply chain and the ability to trace product origins using digital tools.

Thuy Linh