Handicraft industry eyes new markets

This remark was released at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on March 28.

Leading experts in the field outlined the potential and limits of the local wooden and handicraft industry and ways to find new customers in new and traditional markets.

Nguyen Chanh Phuong, a member of the Handicrafts and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (Hawa)’s executive board said Vietnam’s timber processing industry has struggled in the past three years due to the impact of the economic slowdown.

With the world economy out of the woods yet, this year will continue to be a difficult year for local furniture exporters, he said.

Local companies will have to reform their trading methods and seek new export markets as well as increasing exports to traditional markets, he said.

“The Middle East, India, Singapore and Malaysia are among the potential markets that local furniture companies should pay more attention to this year,” he said.

Phuong called on local firms to conduct market surveys and understand consumers’ taste to develop more suitable products.

Nguyen Ngoc Hung, general director of Dun and Bradstreet Vietnam, said that, as the housing market in the US is recovering, demand for furniture products is expected to increase.

Local companies should take this opportunity to increase exports to the market, he said.

Herb Cochran, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam ( Amcham), said local companies have many opportunities to export their products to the US.

However, they must comply with strict requirements on product quality and safety as well as labour and working conditions set by the US.

Regarding global design trends, Dam Huy Binh, Dun and Bradstreet Vietnam’s business development director, said foreign buyers are looking for green, sustainable and healthy designs, multi-functional designs, and alternative materials.

Speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Thi Hanh, chief representative of the E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency in Ho Chi Minh City, said that exporters must actively seek new outlets and restructure their organizations.

She urged local exporters to use e-commerce to promote their brands and expand their markets.

Despite global economic difficulties, the industry earned US$4.67 billion from exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 17.9 percent.

The seminar was jointly hosted by HAWA and Dub and Bradstreet with FedEx and AIG Vietnam Insurance Company.