Quality crucial for domestic products to retain market
Hanoi (VNA) – Improving quality will be key for made-in-Vietnam products to keep its
market share in the face of increasingly fierce competition from imports,
according to a trade official.
Nguyen Thi Thu
Trang, Director of the World Trade Organisation and Integration Centre of the
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, made the warning, adding that if domestic
manufacturers fail to capitalize on their advantages in transport costs and tax,
they may lose market share to imported products.
However, the
Ministry of Industry and Trade was of the view that there is only a small
possibility that import products can replace made-in-Vietnam products on the
market, at least in the near future.
The ministry said
that import products are mostly marketed by modern retail forms like shopping
malls, supermarkets and convenience stores, which account for just between 25 and
30 percent of Vietnam’s retail market.
The remaining
market share is still dominated by traditional retail forms like markets, grocery
stores and specialised stores, which are mostly owned by local retailers. Those
retailers continue to rely on made-in-Vietnam products, which are cheaper thanks
to lower expenses on transport and procedures, lower tax, and advantages in
products’ freshness.-VNA