Firms need solid strategies to boost exports to Thailand
Thailand is one of the markets with most potential for Vietnam within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), yet businesses need to adopt appropriate strategies to boost exports to the market, experts said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on May 7.
At the conference (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Thailand is one of the markets with most potential for Vietnam within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), yet businesses need to adopt appropriate strategies to boost exports to the market, experts said at a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on May 7.
Nguyen Tuan, Deputy Director for the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC), said that as members of ASEAN, Vietnam and Thailand have many favourable conditions to enhance economic partnership and trade exchanges.
Thai goods are widely present in Vietnam and favoured by many customers. However, not many made-in-Vietnam goods are able to penetrate into the distribution and retail systems in Thailand, he noted.
Nich Reitmeier, Executive Vice President Foothalls, International Food & Alcohol Buying at Central Group Thailand, said that his firm is one of the largest purchasing, distribution, and retail systems in Thailand. It is also operating effectively in Vietnam with the Big C supermarket chain.
In Vietnam, Central Group has about 40,000 suppliers, with over 90 percent being Vietnamese goods. Despite this, in Thailand, only 50 made-in-Vietnam goods items are sold in Central Group’s supermarkets, mainly consisting of coffee and dried fruit.
According to Reitmeier, Vietnamese products, especially farm produce, have good quality and taste, but have not yet been developed in Thailand as businesses lack focus on building brands and providing sufficient information of products for Thai consumers.
The design of products has not met the demand and preference of Thai people, he added.
Nguyen Thi Hong, Vice President in charge of social responsibility and sustainable development of Central Group Vietnam, said the company wants to seek Vietnamese firms that can supply many Vietnamese goods for its base in Thailand to bring the products to the global distribution system of Central Group.
This aims to support Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises to boost exports to Thailand and access to other markets, she said.
She reminded that Thailand is a choosy market, but requiring high-quality standards.
It takes 3-6 months for Thai agencies to consider granting import certification for normal products, and up to 2 years for special areas such as baby food, she noted. –VNA
You should also see
PM chairs meeting of national committee for digital transformation
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the eighth meeting of the National Committee for Digital Transformation on April 24, which aims to assess digital transformation efforts and development of the digital economy in recent times and discuss tasks and solutions for accelerating the work in 2024.
See more
Business
French auction house to open office in Vietnam
France’s Millon Auction House has decided to open its representative office in Vietnam, and is preparing necessary steps for the official opening of the office in the near future.
Business
3,400 taels of SJC-branded gold bars successfully auctioned
The State Bank of Vietnam auctioned 16,800 taels of SJC-branded gold bars in Hanoi on April 23. This is the first auction of this kind in 11 years.
Business
HCM City seeks to draw remittances in infrastructure
A seminar aimed at channeling overseas remittances into infrastructure took place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 23, given that remittances to the city reached 9.46 billion USD in 2023, nearly three times higher than foreign direct investment (FDI), according to official statistics.
Sci-Tech
FPT, NVIDIA ink MoU to build 200 million USD AI factory
Vietnam’s tech giant FPT plans to build a 200 million USD artificial intelligence (AI) factory using Nvidia's graphics chips and software, as announced on April 23 in a comprehensive strategic partnership with NVIDIA.
Business
Lao Cai province calls for more Japanese investments
The advantages and potential of Vietnam’s northern border province of Lao Cai were introduced to Japanese firms at an investment and tourism promotion conference in Tokyo on April 23.
