Dragon fruit harvesting in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which came into effective from January 1, will open the door larger for Vietnam’s key agricultural exports to the UK, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has said.
Since becoming effective from August 2020, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has created a big push for Vietnam’s agricultural exports such as seafood, rice, vegetables and fruits, and wood products to the UK,
As the UKVFTA inherits existing commitments in the EVFTA and contains those to market opening the same as the EVFTA, plus additional quotas for competitive products, Vietnamese businesses will see more export opportunities.
Nguyen Dinh Tung, Chairman and CEO of Vina T&T Group – a leading fruit exporter, said the UK is a big market for vegetables and fruits in Europe with diverse import demands.
According to him, Vietnam’s vegetables and fruits could be exported to the UK in particular and the EU in general, if they win orders and meet the countries’ requirements on food safety and plant quarantine.
The UK also has huge demand for wood and wood products, which creates numerous opportunities for Vietnamese exporters as their merchandise have competitive prices, good materials and high quality.
General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe said that the UK is also a potential market for Vietnam’s aquatic products.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the export value of Vietnamese aquatic products to the UK had hit nearly 258 million USD as of late September 2020, up 23 percent year-on-year.
The pandemic is changing the UK’s consumer and import trends, with cheap products easy to consume and cook at home being a top choice.
Therefore, frozen tra fish of Vietnam has a huge advantage and has become a key export of the Vietnamese agricultural sector.
However, insiders said that the UKVFTA also brings about more challenges with stricter requirements.
They advised Vietnamese businesses to improve production, harvesting, preservation and processing to gain better product quality./.
