The current consumer trends and taste for on the Japanese handicrafts market were shared at a recent workshop in Hanoi with the aim to help Vietnamese enterprises better their product designs.

The workshop was co-organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the ASEAN-Japan Centre for Trade, Investment and Tourism Promotion.

Speaking at the event, Shinji Yajima, a prestigious designer from the Japanese Design Institute, highlighted the importance of products’ design, noting that this is a weak point of Vietnamese goods.

He suggested local handicraft makers cooperate with foreign designers, including those from Japan, to study the market taste and renew products’ look.

Deputy head of the Trade Promotion Department Do Kim Lang acknowledged that most Vietnamese enterprises are only selling what they can make, without paying due attention to the specific demand of the Japanese market.

In 2014, Vietnam’s export turnover of handicraft products reached 759 million USD, of which the Japanese market accounted for 122.9 million USD.-VNA