Vietnam is currently home to over 1,000 bamboo and rattan craft villages, accounting for 24 per cent of the total (Photo: baohaiquan.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Despite untappedpotential for development, Vietnam’s bamboo and rattan sector is still facingchallenges that are preventing a growth spurt, according to industry insiders.
Luu DuyDan, chairman of the Vietnam Trade Villages Association, blamed theunsatisfactory performance on poor strategic planning of the domestichandicraft industry in general and the bamboo and rattan sector in particular.
Indigenousdevelopment, backward technology and poorly-designed products made it difficultfor Vietnamese makers of bamboo and rattan items to compete with products fromforeign rivals in the international market, he said.
Danadded that insufficient financial capacity, shortage of raw materials andunstable export contracts also resulted in moderate production.
HoangXuan Thuy, director of the HanoiIndustrial Development Consultancy and Promotion Centre, agreed that lack ofraw materials is one of major obstacles hampering the development of the localbamboo and rattan sector.
Bambooand rattan producers in Hanoi said materials for their bamboo and rattan products were sourcedfrom some northern mountainous and central provinces and some are imported fromoverseas. However, the small scale and unstable sources of raw materials haveresulted in negative impact on the operation of firms, Thuy said, citing somecases in which many enterprises had to decline several large-scale exportcontracts as they failed to find sufficient supplyof raw materials.
Tradeexperts emphasised the importance of drawing up an effective developmentstrategy to facilitate the development of the bamboo and rattan sector. Theyalso called for closer co-operation among craft businesses, locals and Statemanagement agencies in raw material planning, establishment of materialpreservation centres and product design.
Thuysaid enterprises themselves needed to take the initiative in developingstrategies to seek new export outlets instead of relying on some traditionalmarkets such as the US and Japan, experts said, suggesting that firmsstudy export markets well to churn out suitable products for each market.
Improvingthe quality of products to better meet strict standards of countries wheregoods are imported is also necessary, especially following the free tradeagreements Vietnam inked with countries and blocs, they said.
Thecountry is currently home to over 1,000 bamboo and rattan craft villages,accounting for 24 percent of the total craft villages.
Currently,the sector contributed more than 200 million USD to the country’s total exportturnover per year, with Vietnam’s bamboo and rattan products being sold in 130countries and territories, making up 3.37 percent of the global market share.
Statisticsfrom the General Department of Customs revealed that by the middle of November,bamboo and rattan exports fetched 231 million USD, with shipments tothe US and Japan recording positive growth.
Expertsforecast that the export of Vietnamese bamboo and rattan products will likelyreach 1 billion USD in the future.-VNA
Luu DuyDan, chairman of the Vietnam Trade Villages Association, blamed theunsatisfactory performance on poor strategic planning of the domestichandicraft industry in general and the bamboo and rattan sector in particular.
Indigenousdevelopment, backward technology and poorly-designed products made it difficultfor Vietnamese makers of bamboo and rattan items to compete with products fromforeign rivals in the international market, he said.
Danadded that insufficient financial capacity, shortage of raw materials andunstable export contracts also resulted in moderate production.
HoangXuan Thuy, director of the HanoiIndustrial Development Consultancy and Promotion Centre, agreed that lack ofraw materials is one of major obstacles hampering the development of the localbamboo and rattan sector.
Bambooand rattan producers in Hanoi said materials for their bamboo and rattan products were sourcedfrom some northern mountainous and central provinces and some are imported fromoverseas. However, the small scale and unstable sources of raw materials haveresulted in negative impact on the operation of firms, Thuy said, citing somecases in which many enterprises had to decline several large-scale exportcontracts as they failed to find sufficient supplyof raw materials.
Tradeexperts emphasised the importance of drawing up an effective developmentstrategy to facilitate the development of the bamboo and rattan sector. Theyalso called for closer co-operation among craft businesses, locals and Statemanagement agencies in raw material planning, establishment of materialpreservation centres and product design.
Thuysaid enterprises themselves needed to take the initiative in developingstrategies to seek new export outlets instead of relying on some traditionalmarkets such as the US and Japan, experts said, suggesting that firmsstudy export markets well to churn out suitable products for each market.
Improvingthe quality of products to better meet strict standards of countries wheregoods are imported is also necessary, especially following the free tradeagreements Vietnam inked with countries and blocs, they said.
Thecountry is currently home to over 1,000 bamboo and rattan craft villages,accounting for 24 percent of the total craft villages.
Currently,the sector contributed more than 200 million USD to the country’s total exportturnover per year, with Vietnam’s bamboo and rattan products being sold in 130countries and territories, making up 3.37 percent of the global market share.
Statisticsfrom the General Department of Customs revealed that by the middle of November,bamboo and rattan exports fetched 231 million USD, with shipments tothe US and Japan recording positive growth.
Expertsforecast that the export of Vietnamese bamboo and rattan products will likelyreach 1 billion USD in the future.-VNA
VNA
