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Info deal seen as strong boon to local exporters
An information agreement signed here on Monday between Global Sources and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Exhibition Service Co., or VietchamExpo, is expected to give a big helping hand to local exporters by setting up a seller-buyer bridge.
Under the deal, members of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) will gain greater access to Global Sources’ community of nearly 830,000 global buyers. For instance, they will be assisted in attending the regular China Sourcing Fair in Hong Kong and the many Private Sourcing Events organized by Global Sources, and benefit from export marketing training programs.
The two sides will place focus on local manufactured products and handicrafts of high quality.
Sarah Benecke, executive director of the China-based Global Sources, noted that home appliances were consistently among Vietnam’s top exports. In 2008, for example, furniture and bedding exports to the U.S. totaled US$1.4 billion, representing more than 10% of the country’s total U.S.-bound exports.
“Despite the economic downturn, products made in Vietnam continue to gain market share worldwide, thanks to a mix of price, quality and design that is unmatched across a range of product categories. As our buyers look for more quality sources from Vietnam, we are working to help them locate suppliers on which they can rely,” said Sarah.
VietchamExpo said at the signing event that it believed its cooperation with the business-to-business media company Global Sources would help local exporters of home products enter new markets and grow their businesses.
Bui Thi Thuc Anh, director of VietchamExpo, said that “with more than 38 years of experience helping Asia’s suppliers export to the world, Global Sources will surely join us as an ideal partner in continuing to serve our mission and create jobs locally, thus help to boost the economy.”
According to the cooperation agreement, VietchamExpo will invite exporters as VCCI members to join Private Sourcing Events co-organized by the two sides. Moreover, they also organize training courses in e-commerce skills for its members and seminars in big cities to popularize Vietnam’s products, specifically at the upcoming China Sourcing Fair.
Members of VCCI will also be added on Global Sources website for free. Global Sources also gives support in booth fees and logistics for Vietnam’s enterprises who join the fair via VCCI.
Benecke said that Vietnam had high potential in supplying international buyers. So many international buyers have recently sounded out how Vietnamese companies can supply products for their sale systems worldwide, she said.
Global Sources has held some events in the city for international buyers to meet with local suppliers.
Minesh Pore, Global Sources South Asia sales manager, said that products manufactured in Vietnam like textiles, footwear, garden ware, and home accessories among others proved attractive for buyers due to their high quality, good designs and environmental safety.
What remains to be solved, according to him, is the lack of marketing skills on the part of local suppliers.
“Vietnamese enterprises are not good at marketing themselves and did not know how to do it right,” he emphasized, adding “They also lacked long-term vision as evidenced in their marketing priorities.”
Pore said Vietnamese suppliers should make themselves available everywhere buyers look, be it print and online materials or trade shows.
He said manufactures should cash in on business-to-business channels, including trade shows, fairs, specialized websites or business consultants to enhance their visibility to world buyers.
Global Sources is a leading business-to-business media company and a primary facilitator of trade in China. The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. The company delivers information on 4.3 million products and more than 196,000 suppliers annually.
vietnamnet, sgt
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