Experts shared at the conference. Photo: N.H

On June 23, the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Embassy of the United Kingdom and the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam to organize a seminar "Taking the UK market potential, taking advantage of UKVFTA". The workshop was organized to exploit and make good use of opportunities brought from the UKVFTA Agreement and continue to promote trade growth with the UK by supporting Vietnamese businesses to join the production chain and supply by British businesses.

Two-way trade recovers positively after the pandemic

Along with the UKVFTA Free Trade Agreement coming into effect, Vietnam-UK trade turnover in 2021 recorded an impressive growth despite the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Vietnam Customs data, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK in 2021 reached USD$6.6 billion, up 17.2% compared to 2020. In which, Vietnam's exports will reach USD$6.6 billion, up 16.4%. UK exports reached USD$849 million, up 23.6%.

In the first five months of 2022, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the complicated geopolitical situation in the world leading to disruptions in the global production and supply chains, the two-way trade USD$2.68 billion, equivalent to the turnover in the same period of 2021.

Speaking at the seminar, Chris Milliken - Vice President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Britcham) affirmed the increasingly close relationship between Vietnam and the UK. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries is showing positive signs of recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the clearest proof of the benefits that UKVFTA brings to the economic and trade development of Vietnam - UK. Chris Milliken believes that trade-investment cooperation between the two countries will go further because the structure of the two countries' import-export industries is complementary instead of competitive.

Chris Milliken said that many British investors and businesses have turned their attention to emerging economies with stable and sustainable growth, including Vietnam. In particular, Chris Milliken highly appreciated Vietnam's commitment to bring net emissions to zero by 2050 at COP26.

To accomplish this goal, he assessed that Vietnam is currently quite open to receiving technological solutions to help build its renewable energy platform. This is again an area that the UK has focused on developing in recent years. In Vietnam, leading in cooperation in this field are major British energy enterprises such as Shire Oak International Group with many solar power projects in Vietnam, Enterprise Energy Group is investing in projects. Thang Long wind offshore Ke Ga cape - Binh Thuan. Main Stream Group is investing in Phu Cuong wind power project Soc Trang.

Truong Thi Chi Binh, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Supporting Industry Enterprises also mentioned that many products in the processing and manufacturing industry are experiencing high growth in exports to the UK and are still lots of room for growth in the near future such as power cables, office machine spare parts, mechanical components for furniture, etc.

Agriculture, forestry and fishery enter the UK thanks to UKVFTA

In addition to participating in the supply chain of industrial products, agricultural, forestry and fishery products, which are Vietnam's strengths, are also realizing great export potential to the UK market. With the transformation of the supply chain, Vietnam has the opportunity to become a partner in supplying large food and agricultural products to British supermarket chains. However, many Vietnamese exporters still have difficulties in finding partners and understanding the needs, quality standards and required export procedures to the UK market, the risks of contracts, payments and avoidance.

Oliver Todd, British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, British Trade and Investment Director in Vietnam, highly appreciates Vietnam's position as a trading partner in Southeast Asia, believing that Vietnam can change to replace countries such as India and Indonesia to become a new supplier in the field of agricultural and aquatic products for the UK. He shared more about the import demand for agricultural and aquatic products of the UK market, as well as outlined the standards for exporting agricultural products to the UK market.

After the UKVFTA Agreement comes into effect, opportunities for agricultural and aquatic products to the UK will enjoy many incentives. To penetrate the UK market, Mr. Nguyen Manh Dat, Deputy Director, Institute of Food Industry, Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that Vietnamese businesses need to have clear and detailed information on quality standards. and necessary export procedures to the UK market, and at the same time change the production model to meet this difficult export market.

Nguyen Ngoc Dai Trang, Executive Director, British Standards Institute (BSI Group) also added that the UK is a country with high technical standards, regularly updating standards to ensure hygiene and safety. Vietnamese enterprises need to grasp information on technical standards quickly to be able to improve and meet the requirements of this fastidious market.

To support Vietnamese enterprises to export to the UK market, Ms. Bui Thi Thanh An, Deputy Director of the Trade Promotion Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade always accompanies Vietnamese enterprises in the exports of goods.

Tran Nguyen Hong Trang, National Director of Operations and Customer Service, Center for International Payments and Trade Finance, HSBC Vietnam, also recommends that businesses take advantage of consulting services. professional to have good information about the partner. Long-standing global commercial banks like HSBC often have very good networks to support this. In addition, the LC payment method will still be a traditional but effective international payment method, helping to ensure the solvency of the buyer.