Vietnam’s export turnover to six Northern European countries in 2020 was equal to figures reported in the previous year despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in Sweden Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy.

In the opening days of 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak began and quickly spread around Northern Europe, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Sweden and Northern Europe paid particular attention to strengthening trade promotion activities and supporting Vietnamese exporters.

It developed online trade promotion support tools and a database of over 3,000 Northern European companies. It also published seven e-books in Vietnamese with market information on Northern Europe and two English e-books on Vietnam’s fruit and vegetables and seafood products.

Representatives from the office also attended online seminars and fairs, to promote links between Vietnamese exporters and partners in Northern Europe.

Such measures proved effective, helping Vietnamese businesses access customers while helping Northern European businesses understand more about the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement as well as the benefits it brings when importing goods from Vietnam.

As a result, Vietnamese rice has been gradually replacing imports from Cambodia and Thailand on supermarket shelves in Sweden, according to Thuy.

Vietnam’s rice exports to Northern Europe rose to more than US$1 million, contributing to lifting the country’s 2020 export turnover to the region to nearly US$2 billion, a 0.5% increase compared to 2019.

She said that, in the time to come, the office will continue to apply online trade promotion activities to support domestic exporters.

Attention will be given to considering the possibility of bringing Vietnamese goods into distribution channels in Northern Europe, especially textiles, seafood, food and furniture, she noted.

She promised that the office will continue to act as a bridge connecting overseas Vietnamese companies and domestic firms, helping them import high-quality Vietnamese commodities that meet the strict requirements of partners, thus increasing the presence of Vietnamese products in Northern Europe.