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Copycats, poor market information thwart handicraft exports (11/07)
06/08/2010 - 59 Lượt xem
At a meeting last week attended by trade and industry officials, Dinh Manh Hung of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said handicrafts makers were merrily copying each others’ designs, ultimately offering little choice for importers.
Nguyen Van Quang, deputy director of the southern Dong Nai province’s Department of Industry, said at a recent handicrafts exhibition in German many visitors had complained that three Vietnamese firms had exactly the same items on display.
He explained that, dazzled by the instant profits some successful products fetched, the firms simply copied them rather plan for long-term development.
Industry players blamed the red tape involved in registering copyrights for firms’ reluctance to file for them. This enabled others to steal designs.
Another hurdle for handicrafts firms, delegates said, was insufficient information about export markets.
Many failed to study markets and consumers’ tastes in importing countries, and their products, mostly designed for the home market, were unacceptable.
Vietnam’s handicraft exports are estimated to hit $820 million this year, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent.
VCCI, which is working with the handicrafts industry to tackle the problems, forecast the figure to jump to $1.5 billion by 2010.
The trade ministry is working with the International Trade Center to draw a project to support trade promotion and export development with a greater focus on handicraft exports.
The project has supported handicraft businesses in working out a plan to develop raw materials, a design center, market research and study the latest processing technology.
Local handicraft enterprises are encouraged to move into easy-going markets in Africa and Southwest Asia where shipments are growing steadily.
Source : NLD
