Transparent supply chain, green manufacturing will help sustainable exports

According to Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, former Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, to effectively exploit the UKVFTA, Vietnamese businesses need to be transparent in their supply chains, invest in green production, and not use plastic packaging...

Transparent supply chain, green production will help sustainable exports

According to Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, former Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, to effectively exploit the UKVFTA, Vietnamese businesses need to be transparent in their supply chains, invest in green production, and not use plastic packaging...

Mr. Nguyen Canh Cuong, former Counselor in the United Kingdom.

Sir, after more than 3 years of implementing UKVFTA, Vietnam's trade with the UK has changed positively, have businesses taken advantage of the country's early bilateral FTA to accelerate exports?

It is true that Vietnamese enterprises have many advantages in trading with the UK market thanks to UKVFTA.

After the UK left the EU, the supply chain as well as the customer relationships of UK businesses with EU businesses were also somewhat impaired.

Data shows that the UK’s import and export to the EU after the UK left the EU has some sectors decreased by up to 30%. The decline in trade relations between the UK and the EU creates gaps in the supply chain. This can be considered an opportunity or a new advantage for Vietnamese businesses, because market demand is still there and even increasing.

In addition to that advantage, the trade relationship between Vietnam and the UK is developing very well. In the minds of British businesses and British consumers, Vietnam is a developing country, an open economy , deeply integrated, with an increasingly large scale of production and trade thanks to domestic investment and FDI attraction.

British businesses highly appreciate the Vietnamese economy in general and the supply capacity of businesses. This is a remarkable progress, an upgrade in national prestige and business prestige, the prestige of the economy, the prestige of Vietnamese products, thereby creating more favorable conditions for exporters to access the UK market.

Having worked as a trade representative in the UK for many years, witnessing export industries taking advantage of the UKVFTA to increase trade exchanges, what advice do you have for Vietnamese businesses facing the challenges of sustainable standards and greening production for sustainable exports to the UK?

Vietnamese enterprises have many favorable factors due to the bilateral relationship between the two countries being at a very good stage, and then there is the additional boost from UKVFTA, helping Vietnamese exporters compete more effectively with many similar products from other countries in the region and many other regions in the world in the UK.

However, I would like to emphasize that standardization is a common and almost mandatory requirement for British businesses when they import goods. It is the trend of sustainable and environmentally friendly consumption, the requirement of not using plastic packaging, the requirement of supply chain transparency and the ability to trace the origin of products using digital tools.

At the same time, it is necessary to increase the application of science and technology, develop production systems, deep processing, and optimize production cycles to increase the competitiveness of goods.

To take advantage of resources from the UK market with the "launching pad" from UKVFTA, in addition to green, sustainable production and traceability of origin, what other requirements do businesses need to comply with?

I would like to reiterate that standardisation is a common and almost mandatory requirement for British businesses when they want to explore new products.

The second feature, the trend of sustainable, environmentally friendly, and emission-reducing consumption is a priority agenda of the British Government over many periods, and the agenda of emission reduction, environmental pollution reduction, and climate change prevention has been transferred into trade and business policies, and British consumers are highly aware of this story.

Therefore, Vietnamese suppliers and exporters must be aware of the high concerns of British businesses and British consumers so that their products meet their expectations and do not use plastic packaging.

The next requirement is the requirement for supply chain transparency and product traceability using digital tools. When exporting products to the UK, Vietnamese businesses must be able to answer buyers about where the raw materials are imported from and what the production process is.

The entire supply chain must be ready for businesses to provide, but not in the traditional way, but with a database platform and digital platform available for customers to check themselves.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/minh-bach-chuoi-cung-ung-san-xuat-xanh-se-giup-xuat-khau-ben-vung-d229110.html