HCM City to launch many programs to promote exports

The HCMC Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) is launching many programs this year to help Vietnamese exporters tap new markets and overcome challenges, the director of the center said on January 28.
Tu Minh Thien told the Daily on the sidelines of a conference of the HCMC Union of Business Associations that the center is launching many programs to help local exporters maintain market shares in traditional markets such as Europe, the U.S. and Japan, and penetrate new markets including the Middle East, Africa and Myanmar.

“A number of enterprises have accessed new markets, but it’s necessary to have a general program of the city to help exporters penetrate new markets effectively,” said the director of the center, which is a government agency mandated to facilitate investment and trade.

ITPC is also cooperating with agencies of the Netherlands, France, Israel and the U.S. to promote exports.

The center is working with the Center for the Promotion of Imports (CBI), an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to implement a five-year program starting this year to set up the Vietnamese exporters club and build up a supporting network helping Southern entrepreneurs make trademark-building plans.

Besides, ITPC have other programs with France, the U.S. and Israel to carry out many export promoting activities. Many trips will be organized to study foreign markets’ demands, he said.

Thien said local exporters would face many challenges although the global economy is expected to gain 4% growth this year. Protectionism with non-tariff barriers and strong competition will hit Vietnamese exporters harder this year, he said.

Furthermore, local entrepreneurs will meet difficulties in satisfying regulations of choosy markets, including Japan, EU and the U.S. Labor-intensive manufacturing industries, including textile and garments, footwear and aquatic products, are facing most difficulties this year, he added.

Source: VietNamNet/SGT