Opportunities to increase market share in the UK for Vietnamese wood producers

VIETNAM, July 12 - HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese businesses have many opportunities in the UK market with exported wood and wood products thanks to strong key product lines and preferential tariffs under the UKVFTA, CPTPP agreements.

The Agency of Foreign Trade estimates that Việt Nam's export value of wood and wood products reached US$1.25 billion in June this year, down 1.1 per cent month-on-month, but up 13.6 per cent year-on-year.

The export of wood and wood products is estimated to reach $7.4 billion in the first six months of this year, a year-on-year growth of 22.2 per cent.

Of which, the export value of wood products is estimated to reach $5.03 billion, up 21.4 per cent year-on-year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the UK's main imported wooden furniture items are living room and dining room furniture, wooden frame chairs and bedroom furniture.

These are products which Việt Nam holds strong brand value in and Vietnamese businesses also have many opportunities in the UK market thanks to tariff incentives under the UKVFTA and CPTPP agreements.

The Agency of Foreign Trade cited statistics from the International Trade Centre (ITC), showing UK imports of wooden furniture reached $367 million in March this year, a year-on-year growth of 6.9 per cent.

The country’s wooden furniture imports reached $1.03 billion in the first three months of this year, up 1.7 per cent year-on-year.

In addition, the UK market is quite large, with the diverse needs of an Asian community of more than 5.5 million people.

"However, the proportion of UK imports from Việt Nam is still low, so the opportunity to expand market share in the UK is very positive," said the Ministry of Industry and Trade to Đầu tư (Investment) newspaper.

To penetrate and expand the market in the UK and effectively take advantage of the benefits that the UKVFTA agreement brings, experts say businesses needed to grasp the regulations on new market standards and consumer trends to improve technology and product design quality.

At the same time, experts also recommended investing in and using modern digital marketing tools and means to enhance product promotion, to actively participate in international exhibitions in the UK.

In particular, it is necessary to prepare a production conversion roadmap to meet the UK's new requirements on reducing emissions and preventing deforestation and forest degradation. — VNS