The Vietnam - UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) has substantially assisted Vietnam’s coffee sector to expand its market share in the UK, according to the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Under the UKVFTA, import duties will be eliminated for 99.2% of the tariff lines, equivalent to 99.7% of Vietnam’s export revenue, after six years since the deal took effect.

Therefore, businesses should quickly move to seize opportunities brought about by the agreement, which officially came into force on May 1, 2021, the agency recommended.

Experts said to increase Vietnamese goods’ presence in the UK, businesses should align production with British quality standards, grasp export procedures, and continue improving product quality by upgrading preservation and transportation technology, especially for farm produce.

Firms were also suggested to pay more attention to registering and protecting brands in the UK while proactively seeking partnerships with major distributors in the market.

Vietnam shipped 34,680 tonnes of coffee worth 70.68 million USD to the UK in the first eight months of 2022, up 57.9% in volume and 84.2% in value from a year earlier. Export prices also rose 16.6% to 2,038 USD per tonne, according to the MoIT.

The share of  Vietnamese coffee in the UK’s total imports surged to 29.92% in the first half of 2022 from 16.33% in the same period last year./.