Ample room for Vietnamese exports to UK: insider
There is plenty of room available for Vietnamese goods to enter the UK market, said Thai Tran, Managing Director of TT Meridian, an international logistics and trading company specialising in the UK and Vietnam markets and the first Vietnamese business in the UK to open an all-cargo air route between the nations via Turkmenistan.
According to the business leader, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the global recession, trade exchange between countries has grown rapidly in recent times.
Data from the UK Department for Business and Trade showed that Vietnam's export turnover of goods and services to the UK reached EUR5.9 billion (US$6.33 billion) in 2022, an annual increase of 30.3 %. Vietnam is currently the UK's second-largest trading partner in Southeast Asia and the 40th largest in the world, accounting for 0.4% of the UK's total trade value.
Thai Tran said these encouraging figures have yet to reflect the sides’ true potential, meaning that Vietnam needs to capitalise on market opportunities available in the UK and the current period of the nations’ fruitful relationship.
He made a number of recommendations for Vietnamese firms to boost their exports to the UK market, and suggested they offer more competitive prices, obtain environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related certificates, and apply technologies for improved information transparency, document standardisation, and cost reduction.