Vietnamese firms urged to sharpen competitiveness in UK market

Vietnamese businesses need to move beyond traditional export approaches and strengthen their competitiveness to better tap opportunities in the UK market, heard a seminar in Ha Noi on May 11.

Participants in the hybrid seminar on May 11. (Photo: VNA)

The hybrid event on cooperation opportunities and challenges in the UK market was organised by the Trade and Investment Promotion Support Centre under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade).

Speaking at the seminar, Vietrade Deputy Director Le Hoang Tai said the programme reflected practical efforts by Vietnamese and international partners to deepen economic and trade ties between Viet Nam and the UK.

He noted that bilateral relations have continued to flourish under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Their trade reached about 9.3 billion USD in 2025, up roughly 10% year-on-year, while turnover in the first quarter of 2026 stood at around 2.36 billion USD.

The countries' trade structures are clearly complementary, he said, elaborating that Viet Nam’s major exports to the UK include garments and textiles, footwear, electronic components, and agro-forestry-aquatic products while imports mainly comprise pharmaceuticals and production materials.

Tai stressed that the UK – Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) remains an important stepping stone for improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods through tariff preferences and trade facilitation.

However, he added that increasingly stringent requirements on quality standards, traceability, sustainability and payment methods are becoming decisive factors for market access.

To gain a stronger foothold in the UK, businesses must improve their capacity to meet market standards, diversify payment methods and strengthen links with local partners, the official recommended.

At the seminar, experts, trade representatives and businesses operating in the UK shared updates on consumer trends, the business environment, branding strategies, marketing and access to distribution networks.

Vu Viet Thanh from the MoIT’s Department of Foreign Market Development said the UK is a familiar market for many Vietnamese exporters but also one requiring a new approach mindset.

He said that after Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and amid ongoing global economic volatility, the UK has been gradually redefining its role in international trade, supply chains, financial services, the digital economy, clean energy and sustainable development standards.

Thanh noted that the UK is not only a consumer goods market but also a major centre for finance, services, technology, standards and distribution. Therefore, for Vietnamese businesses, entering this market is no longer simply about selling products, but about meeting standards, ensuring stable supply capacity and enhancing product value.

Viet Nam's exports to the UK not only include traditional product groups such as apparel, footwear, aquatic products, wood, coffee, cashew nuts, and pepper, but also see an increasing presence of industrial and technological goods such as telephones, electronics, machinery, and components. This reflects a shift in Viet Nam's export structure towards products with higher industrial, technological, and supply chain content.

Beyond trade in goods, bilateral cooperation is also expanding into many high value-added sectors. The UK has strengths in finance, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals, education, aviation, professional services, and the green economy, which are also areas where Viet Nam has great demand as it transitions its growth model and develops its industry towards greener, more modern, and higher value-added products, he went on.

Thanh added that frameworks such as the UKVFTA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership are creating favourable conditions for broader cooperation in trade, services, investment, clean energy, green finance, technology and innovation.

In other words, the UK is not a place where businesses can compete by cheap prices or short-term approaches. It's a market of standards, trust, and sustainable supply capabilities. Therefore, businesses wishing to tap into this market need thorough preparation, from product development and documentation to production processes, branding, and partner networking, he suggested.

As part of the event, Vietrade also announced plans to organise a trade delegation to the UK from July 5 to 14, 2026, with a trip to Manchester, London and Edinburgh on the sidelines of major trade fairs.

NDO