Enhancing competitiveness for Vietnamese goods

​Production activities at the factory of GC Food Joint Stock Company (GC Food) in Ho Nai Industrial Zone, Trang Bom District

Mr. Nguyen Huu Nam, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Ho Chi Minh City branch emphasized, when participating in the playing field of integration of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), especially FTAs for the new generation, besides opportunities to expand export markets, to be able to compete in the domestic market, Vietnamese enterprises have no choice but to change their thinking such as investing in people, technology, digital transformation to create products with beautiful and nice designs, reasonable prices and good after-sale services. That is the key to winning, keeping and increasing market share at home.

Despite a lot of efforts and improvements, it is undeniable that many Vietnamese products are still produced in small quantities, with limited scale, uneven quality, and inconsistent prices and packaging. In addition to improving product quality, changing eye-catching and more thoughtful designs, how to distribute and market products, and how to advertise campaigns to affirm the brand is also an important competitive strategy to maintain the domestic market.

Ms. Pham Hong Nhung (living in Buu Long Ward, Bien Hoa City), a customer who often chooses to buy Vietnamese products such as milk, confectionery, fashion, etc., shared that the strengths of Vietnamese products are: close to traditional families. However, in order to promote and develop further, it is necessary to innovate in the intermediary stage and distribution system. Because these stages account for a high proportion, the price is not really competitive, while the imported products are extremely eye-catching in quality and design, the price is only equivalent or slightly different.

FTAs, especially new generation FTAs, are levers for production and export activities even during the Covid-19 pandemic or the "new normal". The problem is that businesses need to master and understand the conditions of each FTA so that they can develop appropriate production plans to meet the requirements, technical barriers, tariffs in each agreement, take advantage of effective opportunities from FTAs.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Chuong, Chairman of Dong Nai Import-Export Association, said that in recent years, many export enterprises in the province are increasingly interested in learning about legal issues related to trade remedies and origin of goods to proactively meet the principles and requirements in the integration process.

According to Mr. Le Van Loc, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, in order to help businesses in the province raise their awareness of integration, in the coming time, the Department will develop a plan to deploy activities to connect trade and promote the trade in an appropriate form, ensuring the requirements for the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic; proactively connect and update information on integration and new generation FTAs.

In particular, for the project of Promoting the application of information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion activities in the period 2021-2030, the Department of Industry and Trade will coordinate with relevant ministries, branches and units to develop implementation plan of the above project on a yearly basis. Including trade promotion through information technology application and digital transformation, proactively expanding export markets.

Nam Huu