Vietnamese businesses keen on UK market

December 10, 2011 | 08:33

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An online talk was held in Hanoi on December 9 to help Vietnamese businesses learn more about the UK market.

Footwear is one of Vietnam's key exports to the UK

>> UK firms see potential in Vietnam market
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The event was co-organized by the Department of Information Technology E-Commerce Section under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Multilateral Trade Assistance (MULTRAP 1) project.

Tran Ngoc Quan, deputy director of the European Market Department under the MoIT, said that the UK is one of Vietnam’s largest export markets.

Over the past five years, Vietnam’s export turnover to the UK has reached an average of 20-25 per cent per year. Key exports include footwear, garments and textiles, tea, coffee, seafood, and rubber.

Mr. Quan said that although the UK is considered an open economy, exports to this market are under strict scrutiny in terms of technical barriers and food safety. In addition, the UK has demanding consumers and it is not easy to change their habits. On the other hand, Vietnamese businesses are not fully aware of regulations on UK imports so they face a lot of difficulties when exporting goods to the market.

Pham Tuan Huy, deputy head of the European Market Department, said that exports to the UK should meet the EU’s technical standards such as REACH, IUU and FLEGT. He added that this is considered a developed market in which consumers have high tastes and are attentive to sustainable values such as health and the environment.

Such standards will affect Vietnam’s exports to the UK as low-cost production and a cheap labour force are no longer advantages of Vietnamese products, said Huy.

Notably, Vietnam’s major exports to the UK are all subject to value added tax (VAT). Therefore, the prices of these products will increase by 2.1 per cent while individual spending is likely to decrease by 0.2 per cent.

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