Vietnam’s first 60 tons of rice exported to UK under UKVFTA

Vietnam’s first 60 tons of fragrant rice exported to the UK under the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) has been sold in London since January 26, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Malie Nguyen

Dieuhuong270198@gmail.com January 28, 2021 | 15:36

	Bangkok Post highlights Vietnam's clever rice strategy
	Insider tips for perfect Chung cake, with Video
	Tons of rice seeds distributed to flood victims in Quang Tri

Illustrative photo: VNA

The UK is currently imposing an import tariff of 17.4% on Jasmin rice. However, under UKVFTA, the Vietnamese high-quality fragrant rice entering the UK market is exempt from the tariff which will help it gain competitive benefit overs ones from Thailand.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong forecasts that thanks to UKVFTA, the export of Vietnamese high-quality fragrant rice to the UK market in 2021 will increase by a dozen times compared to 2020.

The top-quality fragrant rice, imported by the Long Dan Limited Company in the UK from the Vietnam National Seed Group (Vinaseed) has hit the shelves at Long Dan supermarket chain at the retail price of £15.5/ 10 kg (VND 465,000/ 10kg).

Cuong added that Long Dan is the first importer and in the time to come, more enterprises are expected to purchase Vietnamese rice under UKVFTA. He expressed his belief that Vietnamese rice will expand its market share in the UK in 2021.

In 2019, the UK was the largest ninth rice importer in the world with more than 671,000 tons of rice, worth US$531 million. Vietnam exported nearly 1,719 tons, totaling US$1,296 million. The average price was 754 USD/ ton CIF UK port. The market share of Vietnamese rice in the UK only occupied about 0.24% of the UK’s total rice import. The leading rice exporters to the UK included India (22% market share), Pakistan (18%), Spain (11%), Italy (10.9%), and Thailand (9.2%).

The United Kingdom-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) was officially inked in London on December 29, VGP reported.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the UKVFTA was negotiated based on principles that were inherited from commitments in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and were amended in accordance with the bilateral trade framework between Viet Nam and the UK.

The UKVFTA will create a comprehensive, long-term and stable economic-trade cooperation framework between the two countries, thus contributing to deepening their multifaceted cooperation, especially when the two sides just extended the maintenance of bilateral relations at the strategic partnership level.

Thanks to the UKVFTA, interests in the bilateral trade ties within the EVFTA will be maintained. The agreement begins a new period in the two nations’ relationship, particularly in key trade sectors.