What obstacles limit the market share of Vietnamese goods in the UK?

Seafood - one of the strong export products to the UK. Photo: TL

Exports to the UK grew at an average of 9.4% per year

Sharing at the seminar "Exporting to the UK market - Strategy and how to find information", on October 30, 2024, Mr. Vu Viet Thanh, Department of European - American Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade) affirmed that the UKVFTA agreement is an important driving force to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the UK to a new level.

Firstly, Vietnam's exports to the UK market benefited. In the 3 years of implementing the UKVFTA, the total two-way trade turnover between the two countries grew by an average of 8.9% per year, of which Vietnam's exports to the UK grew by an average of 9.4% per year.

“This is a much higher growth rate than the general growth rate of Vietnam's exports or the total two-way trade turnover of Vietnam to the EU or to Europe in general in the first 9 months of the year.

Vietnam's trade surplus with the UK in the past 9 months also stood at USD 5.1 billion, up 24% over the same period last year," Mr. Vu Viet Thanh informed.

On the other hand, according to the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the UKVFTA with its comprehensive tariff removal orders also contributes significantly to increasing the market share of some of Vietnam's strong product groups in the UK market.

In addition, the agreement also helps increase the export of some British goods to Vietnam; at the same time, British investment in Vietnam is also a bright spot. The agreement also has a positive impact on the institutional aspect, as well as promoting Vietnamese enterprises to develop and mature.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, former Counselor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UK, said that Vietnam's export growth to the UK after the UKVFTA took effect was very positive and in addition to favorable market access conditions, businesses themselves also played a very important role.

Vietnamese businesses are increasingly dynamic, especially young businesses, with new digital technology skills, helping to find information faster and more than traditional methods.

However, according to Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, not all enterprises can achieve such level and efficiency because Vietnamese enterprises still have some limitations in systematically searching and analyzing information from foreign sources.

Examples from the UK Department for Business and Trade, the database of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Centre for Export Support from Developing Countries.

In addition, Vietnamese businesses can access free, in-depth information sources and databases on UK businesses on the website companieshouse.gov.uk. All UK businesses must register there.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong added that the first thing to do is to access this page to verify whether the partner you are transacting with is registered, exists; is active; and whether the person you are transacting with is a director or a person authorized to transact with you.

“I have witnessed Vietnamese businesses that, because they did not keep up with changes in their partners, had worked together for ten years with relative smooth sailing but did not know that the financial health of their British partners had changed. They still worked, still trusted, still let their partners pay late, even let them deliver goods first and pay later, not knowing that their partner of the past few years was about to go bankrupt.

Or the director I have known for the past 10 years has been fired but continues to work as usual, putting himself in a situation of great loss and very high risk" - Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong shared.

Therefore, it is necessary to check the financial status of customers and partners, including traditional customers and partners to avoid putting yourself in risky situations and causing great losses.

Favorable time to enter the market

According to Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, a British business, British consumers have a need to find new customers and new suppliers. That is a favorable opportunity for Vietnamese businesses.

“After the UK left the EU, the supply chain as well as the trading relationship between UK businesses and EU businesses were somewhat reduced,” Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong informed, emphasizing that the decline in trade relations between the UK and the EU created gaps in the supply chain.

This can be considered a new opportunity for Vietnamese businesses because the market demand is still there and even increasing. I

In addition, the trade relationship between Vietnam and the UK is also developing well.

“In the minds of British businesses and British consumers, Vietnam is an emerging economy and a growing market. British businesses rate the Vietnamese economy in general and Vietnamese businesses in particular as no less than Singaporean businesses.

"That is a great progress, an upgrade in national prestige and corporate prestige, the prestige of the Vietnamese economy, the prestige of Vietnamese products," Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong stated, adding that now is the time for Vietnamese enterprises to take advantage to compete better, compete more effectively with many similar products from other countries in the region and many other regions in the world in the UK market.