The UK – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement is one of the key drivers boosting the growth of Viêt Nam’s timber and wood product exports to the UK, industry experts have said.

According to the Việt Nam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), Việt Nam is the world’s largest cinnamon producer with a total plantation area of 180,000 ha and has become the world’s largest exporter of cinnamon products since 2021.

Under Decree 66, remanufactured goods must now meet a number of criteria, including certification of eligibility and compliance with origin rules established under the EVFTA and UKVFTA.

To better exploit the tariff incentives from the UKVFTA, it is necessary for Vietnamese fishery producers and exporters to focus on improving quality and supply capacity to expand market share in the UK

To effectively exploit the UKVFTA, exporters are urged to launch transparent supply chains, invest in green production and not use plastic packaging.

Vietnamese goods account for only about 1% of total imports into the UK market. One of the reasons is that they have not yet built their own brands and have not focused on effective strategies and approaches to market information.

The UKVFTA took effect on May 1, 2021, with a preferential tariff quota granted to Việt Nam at a tax rate of zero per cent, enabling UK buyers to have more choices of rice varieties from Việt Nam.

Over the past nine months of this year, two-way trade hit nearly $6.5 billion with $5.7 billion from Vietnamese exports, up 22 per cent year-on-year.

Việt Nam’s footwear industry is utilising the United Kingdom–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) to increase exports, according to the Việt Nam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso).

The UK is concerned by sustainable development, labour issues, environmental protection and social responsibility. Therefore, when exporting to the UK, enterprises should not just be concerned about being competitive in terms of price and quality.