Freezing tuna products for export at the factory of Bá Hải in Phú Yên Province. — VNA/VNS

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese tuna has good competitiveness in the UK market thanks to the advantages that the United Kingdom-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) brings, insiders have said. 

Việt Nam is the 13th largest tuna product supplier to the UK, after Ecuador, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). 

Statistics from VASEP revealed that after three consecutive months of decline, Vietnamese tuna exports to the UK increased once again, with export values to the highly lucrative market soaring by 56 per cent to reach US$742,000 in June.

The latest addition brought Việt Nam's tuna export turnover to this market total up to $3.6 million in the first half of this year, the association said, adding that frozen tuna meat/loins remained the nation’s major export product to the UK market, accounting for 92 per cent.

The association said that tuna is sold in many types of products in the UK market such as raw, ready-to-cook, sushi, as a cake or breaded. Of these, canned and bagged tuna products are typically consumed the most. However, the consumption of this product group has been on a downward trend since last year.

However, it noted that Vietnamese tuna products in the UK market are having to compete with similar products from Ecuador, with the South American nation having already signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK. This is therefore facilitating the South American nation as it increases its exports to the UK.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Import-Export Department, Vietnamese tuna is enjoying advantages in the UK market thanks to tariff incentives from the UKVFTA.

According to the commitments set out in the UKVFTA, in terms of tariffs, this agreement has a mechanism to continue the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which means that import tariffs placed on fresh and frozen tuna products will be quickly eliminated.

Tariffs placed on frozen tuna or tuna fillets will be eliminated over three-years from 18 per cent to zero per cent. For processed tuna used for canned tuna - the base rate of 24 per cent will be reduced over a seven-year schedule.

For canned and packaged tuna, the quota will be 11,500 tonnes per year duty-free. After that, the original tariff of 20.5 per cent will then be applied, which will be reduced by 3.5 per cent each year.

Tuna being harvested by fishermen in Khánh Hòa Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

Complying with rules 

To enjoy preferential tax rates as set out in the UKVFTA, however, Vietnamese seafood products, including tuna, must be able to prove their origin, the department said. 

The provisions on Rules of Origin in the UKVFTA are similar to those of the EVFTA, with the origin criteria for raw and processed aquatic products in the UKVFTA being purely originating.

In practice, this means that raw, semi-processed and processed aquatic products exported from the nation are considered to have origin under the UKVFTA when the aquatic materials used in the production process are purely originating from Việt Nam, either born or raised, caught and processed entirely in the country. Therefore, they are not allowed to be imported from a third country outside of the agreement.

Nguyễn Hoài Nam, deputy general secretary of the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), urged seafood producers and exporters to regularly update the market information, especially changes in requirements such as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, to maintain export momentum.

Companies could study the UK market information via the UK and Vietnamese governments’ official sources, the UK public body - the Sea Fish Industry Authority and the e-portal of VASEP, Nam said. 

As part of efforts to promote tuna products to the UK market, according to other experts, Vietnamese enterprises should increase the application of science and technology, whilst developing modern production and processing systems, thereby optimising the production process in a bid to improve the quality and added value of products. This will help Vietnamese seafood gradually meet international standards and create competitive advantages.

They should also diversify export products, increase deeply processed products and choose market segments and distribution channels suitable for products and scale of business operation, while also looking into the tastes and characteristics of the market, experts said. 

New record in October

Tuna is considered one of Việt Nam's major export items. 

Việt Nam's tuna export turnover reached nearly US$93 million in October, up 22 per cent year-on-year or making a 25-month high, according to VASEP. 

During the month, tuna exports to major markets all grew, except for the EU and South Korea, it said. 

If the growth momentum continued, the country's tuna export turnover could likely hit about $1 billion by the year-end, a yearly increase of 18 per cent, the association forecast. 

In the first 10 months, tuna exports brought home more than $821 million, up 18 per cent over the same period last year. — VNS