Foreigners rush to bring goods into Vietnam for consumption

	Lang Son Customs: deployment for preventing smuggled goods in the month of December
	Focusing on the fight against intellectual property infringement
	Guiding the declaration of special consumption tax

Malaysian enterprises want to boost consumption of chemicals for production in Vietnam. Picture: N.Hien.

The landing of Japanese goods

In early December, the government of Aomori province (Japan) led a delegation of 6 companies to Vietnam to introduce a variety of specialties of the province such as sake, beef, black garlic, candy... with the desire to find a distributor and promote consumption in the Vietnam market. The products introduced by the companies here are quite expensive. For example, Aomori apples are priced at about 400,000-400,000 VND/kg, black garlic is 2.5 million VND/kg... Notably, First International Company intends to sell mixed raw beef (not sold in separate beef cut portions) at about 60 USD/kg (about 1.4 million VND/kg).

According to Vietnamese companies, Japanese food product prices are quite high compared to the general market in Vietnam. However, a few years ago, Vietnamese consumers started to be interested in health-safe products, so products from Japan are also consumed more. In addition, the number of Japanese restaurants in Vietnam has increased rapidly in recent years. According to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), by 2017, the number of Japanese restaurants in Vietnam has surpassed 1,000, with Ho Chi Minh City leading the way with nearly 660 restaurants compared to 2014. The rise of Japanese restaurants also contributes significantly to the consumption of imported foods from Japan.

Recently, in early December, JETRO held a business connection program "Good Goods Japan" with the participation of 45 Japanese companies in the field of household goods. According to Mr. Takimoto Koji, Chief Representative of JETRO in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese consumers are more and more likely to use good quality, safe and healthy products with Japanese origin. Therefore, the products that Japanese companies introduced in the Vietnam market is also diverse, such as children's appliances, kitchen utensils, household appliances, cosmetics, stationery ... to meet the best needs of consumers.

Prior to that, JETRO organized the Japanese business delegation to retailers in HCMC such as Southern Bookstore, Hachi-Hachi, Kohnan Vietnam, Van Hanh Mall and equipment shops. A survey was used to find out the ability to bring goods into the market in Vietnam. This activity aims to help Japanese companies adjust their prices to be more suitable for increasing their competitiveness in Vietnam market.

In addition, Japanese companies have implemented the program "Japan Fair" with the goal of bringing more food, agro-forestry products into this country to sell in more than 250 convenience stores and Japanese trade centers available here in Vietnam, such as FamilyMart, Ministop, AEON...

Continuing the trade promotion program for Japanese enterprises recently held in Vietnam. Picture: N.Hien

Destination of many countries’ goods

Not as fast as Japan's trade promotion activities, but many other countries have been deploying programs to find businesses to seek business opportunities in Vietnam. Specifically, in November, the Municipality of Mendoza, Central Argentina held a meeting to connect businesses in the field of wine production and trading in Vietnam with the participation of seven liquor companies from the Province of Mendoza. According to Noris Rivarol, coordinator of the Investment Promotion Agency of Medoza, “Vietnam is a potential market for commodities, products from Argentina in general and wines in particular. Currently wine consumption in Vietnam increases by 10% per year, so Argentine wine can penetrate this market by quality, competitive price. After this trade exchange, the Argentine side will continue to promote the promotion programs, market research, and search for partners in Vietnam. Especially, soon we would like to establish a representative office for Argentine wine in Vietnam, so that we can cooperate directly with Vietnam enterprises.”

Similarly, many other countries such as Italy, Korea, USA... also sent delegations to Vietnam to organize trade promotion programs to open the way to bring goods into Vietnam consumption.

Especially, not only the consumption sector, foreign companies also see great potential in the market of raw materials and auxiliary materials for production in Vietnam. The delegation of 8 Malaysian companies in the field of chemicals also participated in the trade program in Vietnam organized by the Trade Office - Malaysia Trade Promotion Agency (Matrade) in late November. Mr. Wan Azhamuddin Jusoh, Deputy Director Chief of the chemical and petroleum industry of Matrade said that in 2017, the total value of Malaysia's trade with Vietnam in the chemical industry increased by 17% compared to 2016, equivalent to 1.02 billion USD. Chemical products are currently the third largest trade item between Malaysia and Vietnam. In the first nine months of 2018, the total trade in chemical products also increased 21 percent to 871 million USD. Mr. Wan estimates that foreign direct investment in Vietnam contributes to the large demand for industrial chemicals to support processing and industrial production. This shows that there are still many opportunities for Malaysian companies in the field of chemicals in Vietnam.

Will foreigners be allowed to buy condotels? Some experts have proposed allowing foreigners to buy condotels in Vietnam to attract the foreign cash flow.

The push to bring goods into Vietnam has contributed to diversify the market, giving consumers more options for shopping. This also creates competitive pressure for domestic enterprises. However, looking positive, Vietnamese companies will have more incentive to improve their products, improve their competitiveness to keep market share. Especially, many enterprises previously only tried to export, but now are also seeking to conquer the domestic market to diversify distribution channels in addition to the export market. For example, Vina T&T Company, a well-known fruit exporter, is considering opening up its fruit export system in the domestic market. Similarly, many wood furniture companies such as Scansia Pacific, Duc Loi, Nguyen Thanh... are also taking steps to capture domestic demand, from which adjustments in production strategies show that the businesses are not abandoning or missing the opportunity in the domestic market. This is a very positive signal for both domestic consumers and domestic businesses.