Vietnam exports first batch of rice to UK under UKVFTA

January 29, 2021 | 16:50

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The batch of 60 tonnes of jasmine rice was exported to the UK with the price of £15.5 ($21.15) per 10 kilogrammes.

A company named Long Dan imported jasmine rice produced by Vinaseed to sell it at its supermarket in the UK.

At present, the UK applies an import tax of 17.4 per cent for jasmine rice. Vietnam is exempt from this thanks to the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), improving the competitive capacity of Vietnamese products compared to other countries, like Thailand.

Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong said that along with Long Dan, numerous other enterprises will also import Vietnamese rice under the UKVFTA.

“The UKVFTA came into effect since January 1, 2021, creating more convenient conditions for exporting Vietnamese jasmine rice to the UK. This product’s export turnover is expected to rise sharply against 2020,” Cuong said.

In 2019, the export turnover of rice to this country increased by 376 per cent compared to the figure of 2018, however, due to the high tariffs, this product faced difficulties in competition.

Vietnam ranks 22^nd among countries exporting rice to the UK, making up 0.24 per cent of the total import turnover to this country, despite Vietnam being one of the five largest rice exporters in the world.

The nation is the third-biggest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU. According to the General Department of Customs of Vietnam, in 2019, bilateral turnover reached $6.6 billion, including $5.8 billion in export value and $857 million in import value. In 2011-2019, bilateral trade grew at an average 12.1 per cent, higher than Vietnam's average trade growth of 10 per cent with other countries.

By Ha Vy

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