Many opportunities for Vietnamese small and medium enterprises to penetrate the European market

Baoquocte.vn. According to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Finland and Poland, Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have many opportunities to expand exports and investment to these markets when they meet European standards.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Finland Pham Thi Thanh Binh spoke online at the workshop 'Enhancing the role of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to effectively and substantially participate in the international market' held in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of December 26.

Finland prioritizes environmentally friendly products

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Finland Pham Thi Thanh Binh, Finland is located in Northern Europe and is a small market with a population of more than 5 million. The country's economy is characterized by family businesses. Medium (1.1%), small (5.6%) and micro (93.1%) enterprises account for 99.8% of the number of active enterprises.

Finland maintains close trade relations with Sweden, Norway and Denmark. This regional connection helps promote trade in goods and services within the Nordic region.

Vietnam is currently Finland's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. According to data from the Finnish Customs Authority, trade between the two countries will reach nearly 1.1 billion euros in 2022, nearly 780 million euros in 2023, and nearly 710 million euros in the first 9 months of 2024 with a trade deficit with Vietnam.

Finland mainly imports iron and steel raw materials, electronic equipment (computers, phones), a small proportion of garments, footwear and agricultural products.

Regarding opportunities for Vietnamese SMEs , Ambassador Pham Thi Thanh Binh said that this is a potential and stable market because Finland has a stable economy, a high standard of living and demand for quality consumption.

In particular, with the entry into force of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Vietnam will benefit from reduced or exempted tariffs on many products exported to the EU, including Finland. This will create better competitive conditions for Vietnamese SMEs.

In fact, many products have had higher growth rates in the 2020-2022 period than in the 2017-2019 period, such as machinery and equipment, electronics, and iron and steel. Vietnam also has a relative advantage in exporting to Northern Europe food products, raw materials, and labor-intensive light industrial products.

In addition, Vietnamese products such as agricultural products, wood, and seafood have been positively received thanks to their quality assurance and meeting environmental and food safety standards.

Currently, Finland tends to expand its supply, consumers prioritize environmentally friendly and sustainably sourced products. Vietnamese SMEs can take advantage of their strengths in handmade production and ecological products to attract this market.

Finland is also famous for its technology and innovation. Collaboration with Finnish companies can bring opportunities for technology transfer and improve production capacity for Vietnamese SMEs. E-commerce also facilitates the introduction of Vietnamese products and access to foreign markets.

Speaking about challenges , Ambassador Pham Thi Thanh Binh also pointed out that the Finnish market in particular and the EU in general have high standards of quality, food safety and traceability. Vietnamese SMEs need to invest in improving production processes to meet these requirements.

The workshop 'Enhancing the role of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad in supporting small and medium enterprises to effectively and substantially participate in the international market' was held in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of December 26.

In addition, 99% of Finland’s import standards are harmonized with the EU, and Finland also applies some of its own regulations. Finland also focuses on sustainability and social responsibility, so it also requires minimizing environmental impact.

Factors such as differences in business culture, legal regulations, and consumption habits, especially the small Finnish market, remote geographical location, preference for domestic and intra-bloc products, etc., are also challenges for Vietnamese SMEs.

Ambassador Pham Thi Thanh Binh affirmed that, thoroughly implementing the service mindset and implementing economic diplomacy with people, localities and businesses as the center of service, the Vietnamese Embassy in Finland is always proactive and timely in supporting, providing and updating information for businesses and localities.

Business requests can be sent directly to the Embassy or through the economic diplomacy focal point of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for support.

Poland's populous market is the gateway to the Baltic countries

According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in the 11 months of 2024, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Poland reached 3.15 billion USD, an increase of 21.6% over the same period in 2023. Of which, Vietnam exported 2.8 billion USD to Poland, an increase of 24.5% over the same period in 2023 and imported 350 million USD from Poland, an increase of 3.0% over the same period in 2023.

Vietnam mainly exports computers, electronic products, components, machinery, phones and components, means of transport and spare parts, accounting for about 64% of Vietnam's total export turnover to Poland.

Other items include confectionery and cereal products, coffee, pepper, rubber, tea, etc., mostly exported by small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam. The export turnover of these products in the first 11 months of 2024 reached about 135 million USD, an increase of 53% over the same period in 2023. Compared to the total export value of Vietnam to Poland, this number is not large, however, it has grown steadily over the years.

Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai spoke online at the workshop 'Enhancing the role of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to effectively and substantially participate in the international market' held in Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of December 26.

Sharing about the opportunities for Vietnamese SMEs to penetrate the market, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai, the Polish market is the 6th largest economy in Europe with positive annual growth and a large population (about 39 million people). With the large consumption power of Polish people, especially the large number of overseas Vietnamese in Poland (about 30,000 people), this is considered a large market for SMEs to exploit.

In addition, Polish goods are also supplied to the Baltic countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine. Therefore, if goods can be supplied to Poland, it means supplying goods to almost the entire Eastern European region.

In particular, the EVFTA Agreement comes into effect with many tariff incentives, gradually eliminating import taxes for many Vietnamese goods, making Vietnamese goods more competitive than other countries in the region.

Regarding challenges , Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai also said that as a member of the European Union, to export goods to Poland, businesses need to fully and accurately meet European import standards. In particular, small and medium enterprises need to pay close attention to be able to achieve these standards.

Recently, the Embassy has coordinated with the Vietnam Trade Office in Poland to carry out many activities to support Vietnamese SMEs to penetrate deeper into the Polish market, such as: supporting businesses to participate in fairs so that Polish consumers can know about Vietnamese products; supporting the provision of information or business verification for Vietnamese SMEs; working with Polish localities as well as attending seminars to introduce the potential for cooperation between the two countries...

In the coming time, in order for Vietnamese SMEs to be able to penetrate the Polish market in particular and the European market in general, Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai said that businesses need to apply modern technology, improve management capacity and product quality, and reduce product costs to be able to compete well.

Besides, businesses must ensure good European standards and regulations when exporting goods to Poland in particular and the EU in general.

Businesses or business associations can coordinate with the Embassy to provide timely information on changes in geopolitics, conflicts, natural disasters, climate change, new EU regulations on exporting products to the EU such as: EU green deal, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and other regulations,...

The Embassy will also support Vietnamese SMEs in verifying host country enterprises before signing contracts to avoid possible risks.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nhieu-co-hoi-cho-cac-doanh-nghiep-vua-va-nho-viet-nam-tham-nhap-thi-truong-chau-au-298887.html