Strengthening business connections

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy, Vietnam Trade Counselor in Sweden, concurrently in charge of the Nordic countries, shared with reporters of the Industry and Trade Newspaper about this issue.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoang Thuy, Vietnam Trade Counselor in Sweden, concurrently in charge of Nordic countries

Madam, the Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden, concurrently in charge of the Nordic countries, is one of the units that has actively participated in the Vietnam International Sourcing Fair after 2 years of organization. How do you evaluate the effectiveness of this fair?

Vietnam is currently one of the world's leading exporting countries with a variety of products, from agricultural products, seafood, textiles, footwear to high-tech products... However, a big question is: Why hasn't Vietnam had a trade fair as worthy as THAIFEX (Thailand's leading fair in the Food and Beverage sector)? At THAIFEX 2024, the Vietnamese delegation alone had more than 160 businesses participating in promoting and introducing products.

Therefore, it must be affirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade's organization of the annual Vietnam International Sourcing Fair is on the right track. If our Vietnam International Sourcing gradually reaches the level of THAIFEX, it will create opportunities for Vietnamese export enterprises to "perform", which is a very important opportunity to help connect trade and increase exports.

Obviously, after 2 years of organization, Vietnam International Sourcing has brought a certain attraction, which can be seen through the number of foreign enterprises attending this year, which is much larger than last year. The organization of the Organizing Committee is also increasingly professional to bring businesses from both sides the best opportunity to increase trade.

For the Northern European business delegation, after attending the fair twice, what are the trade results that the businesses have achieved, Madam?

In the event held in 2023 and 2024, the Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden, concurrently in Northern Europe, organized a relatively large business delegation to Vietnam, in many different industries. Here, the participating business delegation had the opportunity to learn more about the Vietnamese market and the potential for cooperation in different fields, from logistics to manufacturing, thereby opening up many new business cooperation opportunities.

Nordic business delegation attends Vietnam International Sourcing Fair 2023 (Photo: Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden)

For example, the Port of Gothenburg, which will attend the 2023 fair, has connected and worked with Vietnamese partners. Realizing the potential of the Vietnamese market, they have worked with Tan Cang Corporation and are preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on promoting direct import and export between Vietnam and Sweden, through the Port of Gothenburg and ports in the Tan Cang Saigon system. At the same time, the two businesses will promote cooperation and exchange experiences in digital transformation and green transformation in the port sector. This MOU is expected to be signed on September 6, witnessed by the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the leaders of the Hai Phong City People's Committee in Stockholm (Sweden).

Large corporations in the field of furniture and household goods in Northern Europe such as FH (Denmark), IKEA (Sweden), or leading Asian food import enterprises such as East Asia (Sweden) have participated in the fair for two consecutive years and each time they participate, they have a more positive view of the Vietnamese market in general and Vietnamese exports in particular. A number of contracts were signed right after the fair. Many very new products were introduced to the market such as shredded green papaya, Vietnamese frozen bread, etc.

Besides those successes, how do you see the limitations at this important trade promotion event?

First of all, it is necessary to frankly admit that Vietnam International Sourcing is in its early stages of development and like many other international fairs, we also face certain challenges, especially in balancing the number of participating export and import enterprises.

For example, in 2023, the number of Vietnamese enterprises participating was quite large, but the number of foreign enterprises brought in by the Trade Offices to purchase goods did not reach expectations. By 2024, the number of enterprises brought in by the Trade Offices increased, but Vietnamese exporting enterprises and the types of goods displayed were not as expected. This is a problem that many other fairs, including large fairs, also face and it is not something that can be solved overnight. However, if it can be solved by harmonizing the number of enterprises and types of goods participating, the effectiveness of the fair will certainly be higher.

With experience from participating in many large trade promotion events at home and abroad, in your opinion, what solutions are needed to further improve the effectiveness of Vietnam International Sourcing in the next events?

First of all, we need to start by increasing the participation of Vietnamese enterprises. To increase the attractiveness of the fair, diversifying the products on display is very important. We need to encourage enterprises from many different industries to participate, such as agricultural products, food, textiles, footwear, supporting industrial products, green products, etc. In the first years, to attract export enterprises to participate in the booth, we need support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and localities such as providing financial support packages or offering preferential policies.

In addition, attracting international businesses is also a big challenge. The Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to build the prestige and brand of the fair by promoting promotional activities on international media and at major trade fairs around the world to attract the attention of foreign businesses. In addition, building strategic partnerships with international trade organizations and countries to promote and bring purchasing delegations to Vietnam also needs attention, such as signing MOUs with major trade promotion organizations of other countries. The Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden is implementing this and, if in time, will also sign MOUs during the upcoming visit to Sweden by the Ministry's leaders.

Finally, the time of the fair should be fixed at a time of the year so that it is easier for the Trade Offices and businesses to plan. Major fairs around the world often do the same.

I believe that, with the consensus and efforts of all of us, Sourcing Fair will increasingly develop and contribute to the growth of Vietnam's export turnover.

Thank you!

Source: https://congthuong.vn/vietnam-international-sourcing-tang-cuong-ket-noi-doanh-nghiep-338565.html