Thursday, 13 August 2009

Vietnamese firms kick off trade events in Cambodia

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Compiled by Hong Nguyen
A series of trade events will take place this month at the Tinh Bien Border Gate between Vietnam and Cambodia, as Vietnamese companies look closer to home to offset slowing exports to Europe and the U.S.

A trade festival for Vietnamese made goods will be held at the border gate in Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province, provincial People’s Committee chairman Le Minh Chieu told Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) newspaper.

The event is timed to coincide with the opening of the Tinh Bien Commerical Zone and to give made-in-Vietnam goods more exposure in Cambodia, said Chieu, co-organizer of the event along with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The two-day festival will showcase a wide variety of Vietnamese goods on sale at ten duty free supermarkets and play host to the signing of a number of export contracts with Cambodian distributors.

Vietnamese products have gained considerable popularity among Cambodian consumers thanks to numerous fairs and trade events held in the country over the past eight years.

Vietnamese businesses taking part in the event will also provide Cambodian farmers with technical agricultural aid and free health check-ups.

A report on the Cambodian retail market will also be released on the occasion.

Vietnam’s Center of Business Studies and Assistance (BSA) also plans to conduct a consumer survey on made-in-Vietnam products in the neighboring market.

The survey is expected to cost VND300 million (US$17,539), to be funded by the Vietnamese Goods of High Quality Club.

The results of the survey will be published as a manual for Vietnamese businesses looking to set up shop in Cambodia.

In recent years, two-way trade has grown on average growth by 40 percent each year, from US$935 million in 2006 to $1.2 billion in 2007 and nearly $1.7 billion in 2008. Both sides expect that figure to rise to more than US$2 billion by next year, according to a Vietnamese government website.

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