Finland, Vietnam target US$1 billion in trade

Packaging effectively communicates to the target market details about the product, its expected shelf life, instructions for use and contact information for the business supplying the products, and it can make the pivotal difference to successful market entry.

It carries information on the standards to which the product conforms and can push your product above the competitive landscape.

Last year, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Finland reached only US$228 million, which was far below its full potential and improper or substandard packaging may be one of the root causes, Ahlberg said.

The Finn partnership programme has the aim of providing mentoring services, businesses planning, financial advice and solutions to identifying business partners to support feasible and commercially viable partnerships between Vietnam and Finnish businesses.

Cooperation and mutual support

Vietnam exporters shipped US$ 79 million worth of products to the Finnish market last year, while the nation’s imports from the market were nearly two-fold that figure at just US$150 million, according to the Vietnam Customs.

In the nine months leading up to October of this year, the pace of exports to Finland picked up and almost equalled the whole of last year at US$75.5 million. Key exports in the nine month period were coffee, rubber, footwear, garments and textiles.

Imports from Finland during the period principally comprised machinery, equipment, telecoms, plastics and materials. To more fully capitalise on opportunities for increased trade, Vietnam Customs has suggested both nations team up and work more closely together.

Nguyen Tuan Hai, Finland export promotion project director said www.xuatkhauphanlan.com aimed at benefitting the Vietnamese business community in its efforts to elevate trade with Finland to US$1 billion. 

Gateway to the North European market remain wide open

The VCCI project has also formulated plans to increase the number of delegations of local businesses travelling to Finland and Northern Europe to conduct comprehensive market analysis and study the tastes and preferences of local consumers.

Hai recommended that Vietnamese enterprises carefully research the market and assess their products’ competitiveness. Vietnam should aim to promote its strengths in a number of products, such as frozen basa fish, tuna and shrimp. 

In Finland, the four largest food retail groups account for more than 90% of market share. They have strictly co-ordinated with wholesalers and trade centres and it is critically important for an exporter to the market to fully grasp and comply with their strict requirements.

Echoing Sir Ahlberg’s view that effective packaging design is the key to maximising sales, Ha cautions local businesses to attach particular attention to it.  In the Finnish market, if the package design isn’t first rate, the product won’t sell.

Other activities of the project have been aimed at making headway into the market by providing local enterprises with useful information, organizing seminars and providing training programmes and promotional activities. Local businesses should also study and learn as much as they can about the laws of Finland and the North European nations, which generally provide preferences for high quality and environmentally friendly businesses that are socially responsible.

Kimmo Lahdevirta, Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam expressed hope that the project will open up mutually beneficial expanded trade and investment among the business communities of both nations.