Supporting Vietnam Agri-businesses to Penetrate Finland and Northern Europe

Mr Nguyen Tuan Hai, Deputy Director of International Relations of VCCI, Director of FLC14-04, said that although the Nordic market is small, the potential is very large. However, review of trade relations between Vietnam and the countries of North Europe, currently there is no other country in the region having bilateral trade with Vietnam more than US$1 billion. This suggests that trade cooperation between the two sides still faces many shortcomings, because Vietnam enterprises lack information on the Nordic market or the information is not accurate. Moreover, Vietnamese enterprises do not pay attention to quality and design style, so the products do not meet the requirements of these strict markets.

 

Agreeing with Mr Hai, Mr Le Ky Anh, Trade and Economic Specialist for the EU Delegation to Vietnam, said although the Nordic market in particular and the EU in general is very strict, it still provides Vietnam high GSP. The problem is that Vietnam does not yet take full advantage of this incentive, expressed by the ratio GSP of EU providing for Vietnam only 40 percent (while the ratio of Thailand up to 68 percent).

 

The big advantage now is that the structure of import and export of Vietnam and the Nordic countries is complementary. Specifically, Vietnam has strengths in production and processing of agricultural and fisheries products; while the Nordic countries have advantages in manufacturing machinery, equipment and technology. Based on the structure of complementary goods, the two sides could boost export-import operations and increase bilateral trade turnover to develop together. Vietnam-EU FTA is also expected to be signed later this year. It will also bring more opportunities to expand market share of Vietnamese exports in the Nordic market in particular and the EU in general, especially for fisheries and agricultural commodities which are the strengths of Vietnam. "Leveraging the effectiveness of this opportunity depends heavily on the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises. If the agricultural and aquatic products of Vietnam successfully penetrate the Finland market, then deep into the Nordic and EU markets, the export value will be very high because this market has high consumption, so price is not a problem. They only require ensuring the quality and food safety as well as environmental friendliness," said Le Ky Anh.

 

Mr Nguyen Van Giap, Director of the Southern Centre for Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, frankly acknowledged that the fact that today most Vietnamese agricultural products and seafood exported to Finland / Northern Europe in particular and the EU in general are not branded and forced to export via intermediate systems, so the profits earned were reduced. This poses the urgent need for Vietnam to be sensitive and flexible in finding new export direction more efficiently. For his part, Mr Giap recommended, "Finland / Northern Europe in particular and the EU in general are huge markets, but very strict on goods traceability, safety and hygiene. Therefore, to successfully penetrate this potential market, Vietnamese enterprises need to comply with the labelling requirements, the quality of goods and have full import licenses, customs clearance papers, business licenses, etc. In addition to offsetting the lack of information on markets and ensuring their products conform with the general provisions of Finland/ Northern Europe in particular and the EU in general, Vietnamese enterprises should actively require distributors' technical support, information, standards, market information, and customer tastes."