Pepper being cleaned by workers of Loc Quang Cooperative in Binh Phuoc province. (Photo: VNA) According to industry experts, local pepper exporters canalso take advantage of the UK's supply shortages to increase exportsof its key items such as pepper to the country as the impact of the COVID-19pandemic, Brexit and the international sanctions against Russia haveresulted in a supply instability and scarcity in the UK.
Currently, the UK is the second-largest importer and consumer ofpepper in Europe after Germany and Vietnam's pepper exports to the UKmarket have surged positively in recent years.
In 2020, Vietnam shipped 5,621 tonnes of pepper to the UK,raking in 48 million USD of the total 14,000 tonnes and 121 million USD thatthe UK imported.
Later in 2021, the Southeast Asian pepper exports to the UK saw asignificant year-on-year increase of 49%. In the first four months of2022, pepper remained one of Vietnam's major farm produce exported to the UKbesides coffee and cashew nuts.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, pepper is amongVietnamese agricultural products that have gained a foothold in the UK andhave been selling well in big supermarkets.
It said Vietnamese farm produce such as pepper has an edge inthe UK over similar products from countries which have not yet signeda free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK as the UK-Vietnam FTA hascompletely eliminated tariffs for pepper imported from Vietnam.
Local firms, however, can only avail of these competitiveadvantages if they can reach UK quality standards and match customer tastes, itsaid.
According to Phan Minh Thong, CEO of Phuc Sinh Group, whichhas been exporting pepper and other agricultural items to the UK for10 years, though the UK is a large and attractive market, it isalso a choosy one.
"It is necessary for domestic firms to develop sustainablyand invest deeply in order to effectively tap into this market," Thongtold Vietnam News.
He added that pepper and other agriculturalproducts could only make successful forays into the UK market once localproducers ensure food safety and hygiene, gain sustainability certificateswhile churning out value-added products for exports.
For his firm, Thong said, it planned to export more processedpepper products to the UK to enhance its presence in the market and makebetter use of the tariff incentives that the UKVFTA has offered.
Currently, the Phuc Sinh Group earned 6.2 million USD frompepper exports to the UK each year, Thông told Vietnam News.
Trade experts say Vietnam has the potential to become a majorsupplier of farm produce to the UK especially after the UKVFTA came intoeffect. But it is important to learn about import demand, standards andrequirements for exporting to the market.
Nguyen Manh Dat, Deputy Director of the Institute of Food Industryunder the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Vietnamese exporters should dothorough market research to ensure their products are of high quality andcompetitive in the market.
They must also ensure transparency for their products bydeveloping websites and providing information about products, production lines,output, and trading partners, Dat said during a workshop on the UK market heldrecently in Hanoi.
Statistics from the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA)revealed that Vietnam last month shipped 16,500 tonnes of pepper abroad for 66million USD.
The latest addition has brought the quality of pepper export inthe first eight months of this year to 162,000 tonnes, valued at 739million USD. During the period, pepper exports plunged 19% in volume but wereup 11% in value year-on-year.
The VPA said the structure of export pepper products had seen asignificant change. Local enterprises had reduced exports of raw pepper whileincreasing pre-processed or processed products.
Vietnamese pepper products have continued a leading position inthe global pepper industry with the export volume accounting for 60% ofglobal consumer demand.
In order to accelerate pepper exports, the VPA proposedoverseas Vietnamese trade offices continue supporting the pepper industry intrade promotion, import and export development with foreign markets. Assistancefrom the offices in checking information of trade partners and banks atimported markets should be also included.
The association added that it had developed an internationalcommunication project to develop a sustainable market for Vietnam's pepper andspice industry in the US, EU and the Middle East for the 2022-2025 period.
In the next three years, the pepper and spice processing industryof Vietnam will be introduced in specialised magazines in the target marketswhile the industry’s image will be advertised on digital media channels andinternational social networks./.
VNA
