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‘Buy VN goods’: Necessary to create confidence in VN goods
Well-known economist Le Dang Doanh said in the interview given to Nguoi Lao Dong that in order to persuade Vietnamese consumers to use Vietnamese goods, producers have to provide high-quality products and win consumers’ confidence.
LD: What do you think we should do to make the ‘Buy Vietnamese goods’ campaign successful?
Mr. Doanh: Launching the ‘Buy Vietnamese goods’ campaign is a right way of thinking.
First of all, I think that the Government needs to make the decision that state-funded projects must use domestically-made products, not foreign-made products, including Vietnamese representative agencies in foreign countries. It is necessary to set up regulations and stipulate the percentage of domestic goods government agencies must use. Currently, not only people, but government agencies also favour foreign products.
Additionally, we also need to organise trade fairs and popularise information about domestically-made goods in order to stimulate consumption.
NLD: Vietnam is now a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Would a regulation about using domestically-made products violate WTO rules?
Mr. Doanh: This regulation would not violate WTO’s rules, if we did it the right way. For example, we can set up regulation under guidance documents. The Ministry of Industry and Trade should be assigned this work. Other countries in the world also do this. In the US, for example, US-funded works must use US-made products.
Of course, if we had not joined the WTO yet, the campaign would be easier. As we have integrated into the world’s economy, everything will be more difficult due to the stiff competition between foreign-made and domestic-made goods. However, better late than never. We need to make every effort to make the campaign successful. We should not think that we can ask people to use Vietnamese goods just because producers are having difficulties in crisis and want to conquer the domestic market. We should think that this is a long-term strategy.
NLD: However, consumers have the right to choose the products they want, and nobody can force them to purchase these goods and not purchase those goods? What should businesses do if they want to persuade people to use domestic goods?
Mr. Doanh: Producers have to provide products which are high quality and reasonably priced. If they can do this, they will succeed in persuading Vietnamese consumers to use their products, because Vietnamese people have patriotism and pride in Vietnam-made products.
NLD: Vietnamese businesses have been making products primarily for export so far. Will they be able to get used to making products for domestic consumption immediately?
Mr. Doanh: The quality and price of products always play the decisive roles in every market. In difficult conditions, Vietnamese producers need to diversify designs of products and restructure their businesses. Vietnam now has the population of 85 million people, and supposing that Vietnamese consume 100 million pairs of shoes a year – this is a very vast market and a big opportunity for the footwear industry.
I have to add that domestically-made goods have been selling slowly also because of the bad distribution network. The restructuring of the distribution network needs to begin now, in the process of which support from the state will be needed.
The most difficult thing in the ‘Buy Vietnamese goods’ campaign is that producers need to ensure the high quality of products and win consumers’ confidence.
vietnamnet, nld
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