VN hopes to foster computer, electronic, component exports to the UK

In 2021, exports of computers, electronic products and components earned Vietnam US$50.8 billion, making it the second biggest export group, according to the General Department of Customs.

Electronic circuit boards being tested at a factory in Bắc Ninh Province. - VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

Export turnover of this group of goods last year grew 14.1 per cent year-on-year, equivalent to an increase of $6.3 billion, accounting for over 15 per cent of the nation's total export turnover.

The US market was the biggest for this group of goods from Vietnam, accounting for 25 per cent of exports. Exports to mainland China reached nearly $11.1 billion, although only increased by less than 1 per cent and accounted for 21.83 per cent of the total export turnover of the whole industry.

The third largest market was Hong Kong, which grew by 50 per cent, bringing turnover to $6.3 billion. The EU came fourth with $5.9 billion, up 2.6 per cent, and South Korea ranked fifth, reaching $3.5 billion, up nearly 22 per cent.

Four other markets with export turnover from $1 billion to $2 billion were the Netherlands with $1.8 billion, up 5.2 per cent; Mexico ($1.4 billion, up 17.4 per cent); Poland ($1.1 billion, up 14.9 per cent) and Slovakia ($1.0 billion, up 27.7 per cent).

In addition, there were a series of markets with import turnover of nearly $1 billion, including Japan ($996 billion), Taiwan ($938 million), Singapore ($924 million), and India ($828 million).

In 2021, Vietnam’s exports of computers, electronic products and components to the UK also saw an encouraging increase of 5.6 per cent year-on-year. This group of goods was also among the list of key industrial products of Vietnam exported to the UK. That also included phones and components; machinery, equipment and spare parts, and steel and iron.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said tariff preferences under the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) are providing many Vietnamese products, typically computers, electronic products and components, with competitive advantages compared with similar products from other countries.

Under the trade pact, 74 per cent of tariffs on computers, electronic products and components imported from Vietnam have been eliminated since January 1, 2021 while tariffs on all other products will be removed after two or four years.

In addition, Vietnamese exporters can also utilise the UK’s increasing demand for these products to foster their exports to this lucrative market, trade experts said.

The UK Department for International Trade said that out of the UK's top 10 imported products in 2021, electronic equipment ranked fifth with a turnover of 45.1 billion pounds ($52.7 billion), up 3 per cent year-on-year. In the second quarter of this year, the UK's electronic equipment saw a yearly hike of 15.7 per cent to surpass 12.5 billion pounds.

Nguyen Canh Cuong, trade counsellor at Vietnam's Embassy to the UK, told Vietnam News that the UK does not have its own consumer electronics manufacturing industry. All consumer electronics products available in the market are imported.

Market demand is huge and is constantly increasing, especially for smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs, Cuong said, adding that that will create opportunities for Vietnam's consumer electronics products.

He told Vietnam News that Vietnam’s exports of consumer electronics products to the UK will surge in the near future.

Despite a bright outlook for this group of goods to the UK, more support from the State and greater efforts from Vietnamese exporters are needed amid the country's participation in many free trade agreements, experts have suggested.

In order to facilitate exports of computers, electronic products and components to overseas markets including the UK, the General Statistics Office underlined the need to provide support for firms in the process of researching new products, launch trade promotion schemes, and fine-tune the legal system, especially specific regulations placed on goods of Vietnamese origin.

Simultaneously, it is essential to boost export market expansion, improve the operational efficiency of Vietnam's representative agencies abroad and sector associations in implementing trade promotion activities whilst disseminating the details of the FTAs so that businesses could utilise the opportunities brought by these FTAs.

The export turnover of computers, electronic products and components is forecast to continue to grow strongly this year and the export milestone of $60 billion is not out of reach, according to experts.