Exporting handicrafts: Lack of a strategy

Although the turnover has been increasing steadily in the last 3 years, the export growth rate of the handicraft industry has decreased by 50% compared to previous years. To find out the root cause, a reporter from Cong Thuong newspaper had a talk with Mr. Le Ba Ngoc - Vice President of the Vietnam Handicraft Export Association.

Illustration: Internet

It is true that in the last 3 years, the export picture of the handicraft industry has not had many bright spots. If in the period 2000-2009, the export turnover of the industry was not high but always achieved an average growth rate of 12%. From 2010 onwards, the export turnover of the industry has increased every year but the growth rate has decreased by half compared to the previous period, only about 6%.It is known that since 2010, the growth rate of handicraft exports has decreased sharply compared to previous years. What is the reason, sir?

Mr. Le Ba Ngoc - Vice President of Vietnam Handicraft Export Association

I can confirm that we do not lack customers, because there are many importers from the EU, Japan, and China coming to Vietnam. However, we are facing difficulties due to domestic production, the price of input materials has increased, making the competitiveness of products increasingly less, which is the reason why the growth rate of the handicraft industry has decreased. The current export figure of the handicraft industry is over 1.5 billion USD, but it is still not really commensurate with the potential. We can push the industry's turnover to increase much higher if there is appropriate investment.

According to you, which areas should the TCMN industry invest in to promote exports?

If we want to increase exports, we must have several conditions: First, we must have good mechanisms; second, the internal strength of enterprises must be good. Accordingly, on a macro level, the handicraft industry needs to have a specific development strategy and seriously implement that strategy. In fact, we have had a number of plans and decisions related to the industry, such as: Planning of raw material sources for the handicraft industry in 2008; Decision 11/2011/QD-TTg on encouraging the development of the rattan and bamboo industry... however, up to now, the implementation has almost stalled.

In addition, we really need the support of the State to complete the infrastructure system for trade promotion, especially the infrastructure for design and production technology. Some countries around us such as the Philippines and Thailand are supported by the Government in research and technology, and their handicraft industry is developing very strongly.

On the business side, each business also needs to build a clear development strategy, especially businesses should not "make quick money" by producing cheap goods but should focus on investing in new products, environmentally friendly products. Experience shows that if businesses invest in developing new products, these products cannot completely change the quality and technology of existing products, but if there is creativity combining raw materials and new designs, the products will be very popular.

As a representative of the industry, what orientation does the Association have for the sustainable development of the TCMN industry?

The TCMN industry has now exported products to 163 countries around the world, however, sustainable development is a long way that the TCMN industry needs to make efforts to implement. Currently, the Association is reviewing the whole industry to build a development strategy for the industry in the following years. It is expected that by the end of 2014, it will be submitted to the Government. In the new strategy, we do not give a percentage growth figure, but somehow it can be to double the contribution to the budget.

In the long term, the path that the handicraft industry must take is to differentiate production into two segments: mass production and refined production. Specifically, in the future, there will be very few craft villages left, but about 50-70 large enterprises will be formed to produce mass-produced, low-priced goods. The rest will exist in the form of conservation, very small, very refined production but the value is not cheap. This is the model that Japan has experienced and is very successful, if we can do that, I believe we will be much stronger because Vietnam has many craft villages, many unique products, very skillful workers and a long-standing culture.

Thank you!

According to baocongthuong-PH