Since the first batch of Vietnam’s Ri6 durian was officially exported to the UK in the beginning of May, TT Meridian Company has regularly imported 3-4 tonnes of this specialty fruit every week, which shows that it is well received by consumers in this market.

With many years of research on Vietnam’s fruits that have potential and advantages for being exported to the UK market, TT Meridian, a company specialising in the distribution of Vietnamese agricultural products in the European country, sees bright prospects for durian export to this market.

Thai Tran, Managing Director of TT Meridian, said that with the preferential tax of zero under the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), durian import from Vietnam has a great competitive advantage in price compared to those from other countries which is now subject to an 8% tax rate, in the context that high inflation is making price a top concern for importers, distributors and consumers in the UK.

According to him, the UK market has many customer segments and Vietnamese durian can target Asian customers as well as manufacturers and processors of durian products such as ice cream, yogurt and smoothies. The price advantage at this moment opens up opportunities for this Vietnamese fruit to reach UK consumers and distributors.

However, he also pointed to several challenges for Vietnamese durian to stand firm in this competitive market.

One of the difficulties for durian exporters is the procedure for getting a certificate of origin for shipments from the Vietnamese authorities. As a mandatory requirement to enjoy tax incentives under the UKVFTA, the procedure currently takes a long time, manpower and costs because businesses have to directly apply for a paper certificate of origin.

Therefore, he proposed the granting of the electronic certificate with online transactions.

Sharing the same view, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in the UK Nguyen Canh Tuong suggested State management agencies support businesses by shortening the quarantine time and the time for issuing the certificate of origin to ensure the entire process of bringing fruits from the place of harvest to the laboratory, to the border gate, and through customs clearance within half of a day to be boarded on flights the same day.

VNA