Top Thai Brands 2019 exhibition opens in Hanoi

Co-hosted by the Thai Ministry of Commerce and the Vietnam National Trade Fair & Advertising Company, the event has been displaying food and beverages, household appliances, childcare and health care products, apparel and accessories, automobile and motorbike components, trade services and others, said Deputy Director of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Trade Promotion Agency Le Hoang Tai. 



Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Domestic Market Department Le Viet Nga hailed Vietnam as a promising retail market with a population of over 93.7 million people, 60 percent of whom are 18-50 years old. 



Moreover, household expenditure is forecast to rise by 10.5 percent each year, which will rise to 714 USD per month by 2020, she said.



Currently, Thai products navigate the Vietnamese market via four major distribution channels, including Mega Market with 19 supermarkets, B’smart with 75 convenience stores, Big C with 32 supermarkets, and Robinson with a chain of Thai outlets. 



The Thai government always offers favourable conditions for Thai firms to join trade exhibitions in ASEAN member countries. There are between a dozen and 20 Thai goods exhibitions held in Vietnam every year, each with some 100-300 stalls. 



Thai firms also offer financial assistance in advertising and joining domestic fairs, as well as flexible product return policy to Vietnamese distributors, thus improving their competitiveness. 



Under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, nearly 98 percent of import taxes have been removed, making it easier for Thai goods to enter Vietnam. 



Thanks to close proximity between the two countries, time and cost for goods transportation has also been saved. 



The exhibition afforded Vietnamese and Thai businesses a chance to expand markets, as well as seek partners and business opportunities towards achieving a more balanced trade.