Vietnam-UK agricultural trade sees strong growth and expanding opportunities

Accelerating cooperation to capture market share

Vietnam and the UK are highly complementary markets, rather than direct competitors, in the trade of agricultural goods. Vietnam’s key export items—seafood, timber, coffee, fruits and vegetables, cashew nuts, and handicrafts—align closely with the UK’s import demands. In return, Vietnam imports from the UK agricultural inputs such as pesticides, animal feed ingredients, seafood, and rubber.

Vietnam's key products such as seafood, wood, coffee, vegetables, cashew nuts, and handicrafts are all in high demand in the UK.

The UK, with a population of over 70 million and an annual demand for food and agricultural imports valued at approximately $67 billion, presents a significant opportunity for Vietnamese producers—provided they meet high standards for quality, traceability, and environmental sustainability.

Phuong Hoang, Chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in the UK (VBUK), emphasized that British importers are actively seeking stable, reliable sources of high-quality agricultural goods. With its natural advantages, Vietnam is well-positioned to meet this demand if producers align with the UK’s strict quality and sustainability criteria.

Paul Rooke, Chair of the British Coffee Association, also sees considerable potential for Vietnamese robusta coffee in the UK. However, he urged Vietnamese exporters to better understand the market and comply rigorously with fair trade, environmental, and traceability regulations.

Drawing from practical experience, Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, Product Development Director at Longdan Group—one of the UK’s largest importers of Vietnamese goods—highlighted the importance of preserving original Vietnamese product names (such as Cao Phong oranges or Nam Roi pomelos) to build brand identity. She also noted that combining digital marketing with in-store product experiences has helped British consumers more easily recognize and remember Vietnamese products.

Thai Tran, CEO of TT Meridian Ltd—a company specializing in importing Vietnamese fruits and foodstuffs—said that products like pomelos, coconuts, dragon fruit, and passion fruit have made their way onto the shelves of major British retailers such as Waitrose, M&S, and Tesco.

Still, he warned that the competitive edge provided by the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) may not last forever, especially as the UK continues to negotiate new trade agreements with other countries. Vietnamese businesses, he stressed, must prioritize product quality, adopt advanced technology, and manage costs effectively to stay competitive.

Tran recommended that Vietnamese authorities coordinate with the private sector to organize national branding initiatives, such as “Vietnamese Goods Week” across British cities—from metropolitan areas to rural towns. Such efforts, he argued, would significantly raise the profile of Vietnamese agricultural products in this lucrative market.

Strengthening value chains and quality control for greater market access

The UK's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Daniel Zeichner called this a prime moment to advance bilateral agricultural trade. He underscored the vital importance of food safety and quality assurance in opening up the UK market to more Vietnamese agricultural products.

Building on a 2022 bilateral memorandum of understanding, the two governments are now rolling out an action plan focused on inspection, hygiene assessment, risk evaluation, and traceability for priority product categories.

“We must take steps to further open the UK market to Vietnamese agricultural goods,” Zeichner stated. “But to do so, robust food safety control will be key.”

The UK also expects its agricultural attaché in Vietnam to play a more active role in market facilitation and bilateral cooperation programs.

Echoing this view, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Thanh Nam, urged British industry associations to establish annual connection events with their Vietnamese counterparts to promote trade and market development.

He also called on Vietnamese trade associations to work closely with their UK peers in organizing trade delegations, participating in exhibitions and fairs, conducting market research, and analyzing consumer behavior in the UK.

“I propose that industry associations in both countries establish cooperative channels, linking businesses across the supply chain—from cold storage, preservation, and transportation to bonded warehouses and retail distribution,” Deputy Minister Nam said. “This approach will help reduce logistics costs and ensure consistent product quality from farm to shelf.”

Nam further stressed the importance of forming joint ventures between Vietnamese and British companies, particularly in production and processing, to better align with UK consumer preferences and regulatory standards. Such partnerships, he noted, would facilitate deeper penetration into mainstream retail networks, supermarket chains, and the broader British-Vietnamese business community.