Plenty of room for cooperation through e-commerce At the seminar "E-commerce in UKVFTA - The key to promoting trade growth between Vietnam and the UK" held on the afternoon of January 18, Mr. Luong Hoang Thai - Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) Thuong) – said that although the UKVFTA Agreement has only been implemented in a short period of time, it has recorded positive signals. In which, bilateral trade reached more than 6 billion USD, import and export turnover of the two sides increased by double digits, Vietnam's exports to the UK increased by 16.4%, whereas UK exports to Vietnam increased. 23.6% compared to the time before the Agreement.
“The potential for trade and investment development is still greater between the two sides. Compared with other countries in the region, the potential for development of trade and investment cooperation is much higher. Because, Vietnamese goods exported to the UK only accounted for 0.88% of total imports to the UK, and vice versa, British exports also accounted for a small part of Vietnam's imports. Thus, the potential for cooperation and development between the two sides in the coming time is still very large," emphasized Mr. Luong Hoang Thai. Mr. Oliver Todd - British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh, British Commercial Director in Vietnam – also said that with the results achieved in 2021, there will be an opportunity to further increase the requirements and standards set, towards service facilitation. , distributed on e-commerce platforms. In fact, the context of the Covid-19 pandemic has made the e-commerce market in Vietnam grow stronger and stronger, with an increase of 53% compared to 2020, and is becoming a popular means of transaction, the ultimate choice. for businesses and people.
Flexible, adapting to new trends, in 2020, and 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has worked with international e-commerce floors such as Amazon, Alibaba, to support domestic enterprises to boost exports through international markets. Citing Alibaba's statistics by industries from Vietnam in 2021, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy - Director of the Center for Information Technology Application and Trade Promotion, Department of Trade Promotion (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - For Alibaba e-commerce platform, the UK is always in the market with the largest number of buyers (except for agricultural products). Specifically, with the food and beverage industry, the UK is always in the top 10 countries with the largest buyers for this industry product. Meanwhile, the apparel industry, which is in the top 6, has the purchase volume of these items; Beauty-related products also have the second largest number of buyers for these products in Vietnam. In the interior and exterior category, the number of buyers of these items from the United Kingdom ranked 4th. The home and garden category, items such as kitchenware and BBQ grills with distributors in Vietnam are ranked by many people. Buy from the UK the most searched.
“For the Amazon e-commerce platform, Vietnamese businesses have effectively taken advantage of Amazon's innovations to develop strongly and build the "Made in Vietnam" brand on the world map, thereby leaving a strong impression. strong for Vietnam's economy in the international market in general and the UK market in particular," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy.
Promoting e-commerce in import and export activities In the context of the pandemic and the strong development of online businesses, according to Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh - Deputy Director of the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy, businesses can completely access the market through online. However, whether accessing the market by traditional methods or online, UKVFTA is still a new generation free trade agreement, businesses not only care about the quality of goods and prices but also need to pay attention to the process. regulations on food safety and hygiene, regulations on sustainable development…. Agreeing with the view, Ms. Bui Thanh Hang - Head of International Cooperation Department, Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) - said that with the e-commerce commitments in UKVFTA, it completely opens up many methods. new market access, not necessarily going through traditional market access. “Besides expanding the market, finding customers through participating in e-commerce floors, B2B, B2C forms – the most traditional form in e-commerce applications, nowadays there is a trend that is organizing online exhibitions. and build a model of a national pavilion on the platform,” shared Ms. Bui Thanh Hang.
However, in order to do this, according to Ms. Hang, the State needs to continue to improve the legal framework and policies to ensure the right direction and catch up with market trends. organize and provide capacity building programs, the business community as well as consumers. Along with that, businesses need to improve their capacity and identify e-commerce or digital transformation as a mandatory condition and the focus of their long-term business strategy. As one of the businesses that have successfully exported many orders to the UK market through e-commerce, Ms. Tran Thi Yen Phi - CEO of DSW Company - said that through e-commerce, accessing the market will be easy. But to convince customers, each business should equip products and communication skills to negotiate successfully through e-commerce.
“In order to deliver goods through B2C like Amazon, it is necessary to prepare for delivery, send goods, clear customs and choose the right method. For B2B through Alibaba, businesses need to know how to execute commercial contracts, as well as the contract standards set for products and ensure that the goods are qualified to enter the UK market "- Ms. Tran Thi Yen Phi shared. shall. Thu Phuong - Bui Hung - https://congthuong.vn/
