Although Vietnam is placed among leading wood exporters in theworld, the domestic market is being dominated by foreign products orthose made by small-and medium sized firms and trade villages, accordingto Tin tuc (News) newspaper.
A customer from Ho Chi MinhCity's District 3, for example, said foreign wood products are globaltrend designs, whilst local products are of non-uniform quality andpoor design.
Vietnam has 4,000 businesses operating in the wood product sector, of which 95 percent are privately owned.
Vietnam has more than 1,000 wood-processing craft villagesnationwide, but due to a lack of a distribution system, the locally-madeproducts, especially those in craft villages, have not been favoured byconsumers.
Phan Chi Dung, head of the Ministry of Industry andTrade's Light Industrial Department, said multinationals andforeign-invested enterprises had grabbed 80 percent of market share ofwood and furniture products.
Many of the local companies are notcompetitive because of capital shortage and small-scale production.Moreover, it is difficult for them to quickly adapt to changing consumertastes.
In addition, the raw material supply is heavilydependent on foreign imports, leading to higher selling prices. Andpromotional activities and designing works are still limited.
NguyenHuu Toan, Director of Toan Thien An Interior Ltd Co, said businessesshould have professional design teams, distribution channels, andregistered trademarks.
"Exploiting the domestic market has manyadvantages, such as stable demand and stable production plans. Companiescan adjust samples and designs to meet the taste of market," he added.
Atthe seminar "Vietnam Economy 2014 and business prospects in thefurniture sector" held recently in Ho Chi Minh City, manyparticipants said the local wood market had great potential in a countryof 90 million people.
According to Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Chairmanof the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association, aVietnamese household spends about 6 million VND (285.7 USD) forfurniture products per year.
With a growing economic recovery,domestic consumption this year is expected to reach more than 2 billionUSD and will increase in coming years.
Creating linkages between local and foreign businesses would help them learn experiences from their foreign partners.-VNA
A customer from Ho Chi MinhCity's District 3, for example, said foreign wood products are globaltrend designs, whilst local products are of non-uniform quality andpoor design.
Vietnam has 4,000 businesses operating in the wood product sector, of which 95 percent are privately owned.
Vietnam has more than 1,000 wood-processing craft villagesnationwide, but due to a lack of a distribution system, the locally-madeproducts, especially those in craft villages, have not been favoured byconsumers.
Phan Chi Dung, head of the Ministry of Industry andTrade's Light Industrial Department, said multinationals andforeign-invested enterprises had grabbed 80 percent of market share ofwood and furniture products.
Many of the local companies are notcompetitive because of capital shortage and small-scale production.Moreover, it is difficult for them to quickly adapt to changing consumertastes.
In addition, the raw material supply is heavilydependent on foreign imports, leading to higher selling prices. Andpromotional activities and designing works are still limited.
NguyenHuu Toan, Director of Toan Thien An Interior Ltd Co, said businessesshould have professional design teams, distribution channels, andregistered trademarks.
"Exploiting the domestic market has manyadvantages, such as stable demand and stable production plans. Companiescan adjust samples and designs to meet the taste of market," he added.
Atthe seminar "Vietnam Economy 2014 and business prospects in thefurniture sector" held recently in Ho Chi Minh City, manyparticipants said the local wood market had great potential in a countryof 90 million people.
According to Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Chairmanof the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association, aVietnamese household spends about 6 million VND (285.7 USD) forfurniture products per year.
With a growing economic recovery,domestic consumption this year is expected to reach more than 2 billionUSD and will increase in coming years.
Creating linkages between local and foreign businesses would help them learn experiences from their foreign partners.-VNA
