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VN–UK trade turnover increases
Bilateral trade turnover between Viet Nam and the UK has seen average annual growth of about 20 per cent in recent years despite the global economic recession, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK and North Ireland.
In the first 10 months of 2012, bilateral trade turnover reached more than US$3.5 billion, a jump of 36 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.
During the same period, Viet Nam earned US$3.2 billion from exports to UK, a year-on-year increase of 44 per cent, according to the embassy's report.
Key Vietnamese exports to the UK are mobilephones, footwear, garments, coffee, tea, spices and plastic.
Imports from the UK for the first 10 months of last year totalled $378 million, a surge of 91 per cent year-on-year. The main imports were chemicals, machinery, medicine and steel.
During this 10-month period, Viet Nam enjoyed a trade surplus of $2.8 billion with the UK.
The embassy estimates that bilateral trade turnover would reach more than than $4 billion for last year.
Despite such promising results, experts said that Vietnamese products in the UK were still less competitive than those from Thailand, China and India, mostly due to the smaller volume that is exported.
To enhance trade relations and maintain growth, the embassy urged Vietnamese companies to do more marketing and advertising so that UK partners and consumers could learn more about their products.
In order to maintain trade growth, more key products should be exported to the UK as well as an increased volume, experts have suggested.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, trade turnover between the two countries in 2011 was more than $3 billion.
vietnamnews
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