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According to an official from the Center for Researching and Supporting Traditional Craft Villages, handicraft is a potential export industry.
In compared to other sectors like textile and garment or electronics, handicraft industry’s export value is still modest but its profit is much higher thanked to abundance of materials and labour.
Statistical data by the General Office of Statistics show last year, Vietnam gained as much as $430 million from exports of handicraft products. However, if UNESCO’s definition of handicraft product code applies, Vietnam earned $952 million from these exports last year.
In fact, manufacturers and exporters of handicraft products have not fully exploited potentials of this industry. A large percentage of their output is exported via mediators, considerably pressing down profit. Moreover, many producers have not considered designing a work of significance.
Mr. Nguyen Sy, director of a handicraft company in Bac Ninh province said mostly every manufacturers make for order or follow available designs in the market and do not invest much in style design. He further said one of the reasons for handicraft products not matching customers’ desires is insufficient market information. In fact, many traditional characters of handicrafts are not suitable with modern life and need to be adapted. If producers know that, they will be able to find way to change their products so as to boost their market presence in foreign countries. Moreover, makers also need to know about tariffs and desires of the markets that they target. Therefore, there should be trade promotion organizations specializing in regularly providing handicraft makers with market information.
A recent seminar on guiding export marketing for the handicraft industry held by the Ministry of Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) in conjunction with the UNCTAD/WTO International Trade Center (ITC) provided handicraft makers with skills in export marketing for the 3 major markets namely the US, Japan, and the EU.
Ms. Vicki Susan Lederman, consultant for home handicraft design from the ITC recommended exporters to divided the markets into small ones so as to penetrate them more easily. She also noted there are two ways for makers to approach customers. First, they choose and study markets before they design products and second, they make products and then find markets for what they manufacture. They should also specify current customers and potential customers so as to conduct advertisement in the most effective way and adapt products to suit different groups of buyers. She further pointed out that handicraft manufacturers should consider whether market size is large enough for them to develop their products as well as if they are able to make the difference and compete with others.
Experts also highlighted increases of added value for their products. Specialities and high quality are the factors that improve value of products.
Finally, they recommended makers to keep in mind the “Five Ps” which are: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and People.Statistical data by the General Office of Statistics show last year, Vietnam gained as much as $430 million from exports of handicraft products. However, if UNESCO’s definition of handicraft product code applies, Vietnam earned $952 million from these exports last year.
In fact, manufacturers and exporters of handicraft products have not fully exploited potentials of this industry. A large percentage of their output is exported via mediators, considerably pressing down profit. Moreover, many producers have not considered designing a work of significance.
Mr. Nguyen Sy, director of a handicraft company in Bac Ninh province said mostly every manufacturers make for order or follow available designs in the market and do not invest much in style design. He further said one of the reasons for handicraft products not matching customers’ desires is insufficient market information. In fact, many traditional characters of handicrafts are not suitable with modern life and need to be adapted. If producers know that, they will be able to find way to change their products so as to boost their market presence in foreign countries. Moreover, makers also need to know about tariffs and desires of the markets that they target. Therefore, there should be trade promotion organizations specializing in regularly providing handicraft makers with market information.
A recent seminar on guiding export marketing for the handicraft industry held by the Ministry of Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) in conjunction with the UNCTAD/WTO International Trade Center (ITC) provided handicraft makers with skills in export marketing for the 3 major markets namely the US, Japan, and the EU.
Ms. Vicki Susan Lederman, consultant for home handicraft design from the ITC recommended exporters to divided the markets into small ones so as to penetrate them more easily. She also noted there are two ways for makers to approach customers. First, they choose and study markets before they design products and second, they make products and then find markets for what they manufacture. They should also specify current customers and potential customers so as to conduct advertisement in the most effective way and adapt products to suit different groups of buyers. She further pointed out that handicraft manufacturers should consider whether market size is large enough for them to develop their products as well as if they are able to make the difference and compete with others.
Experts also highlighted increases of added value for their products. Specialities and high quality are the factors that improve value of products.
Finally, they recommended makers to keep in mind the “Five Ps” which are: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and People.
VNECONOMY - (21/10/2005)
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