As more Vietnamese people are able to go abroad for tourism, only a few enterprises attend foreign exhibitions and trade fairs in search of business opportunities.
Many foreign enterprises have lined up to register for international business events.
For example, the Food Ingredients Asia (Fi Asia) 2014 conference is scheduled to take place in October in Jakarta. It is expected to attract around 450 enterprises as well 13,000 participants from the region and around the world. However, according to the organisation board, only two Vietnamese enterprises have registered for the event. Many experts have mulled over the reasons for this.
Vietnamese enterprises participating in international trade fair
Rungphech ‘Rose’ Chitanuwat, marketing director of UBM Asia, a leading exhibition organiser in the region, said that along with Fi Asia 2014, there will be several other seminars to offer an opportunity to introduce food products to major markets and discover the newest business trends, especially in ASEAN nations.
"With a population of around 90 million people, Vietnam boasts great potential development for the food and beverages industry. The exhibition is expected to provide participating enterprises with a chance to promote their products and set up relationships with their potential partners,” said Rose.
Concerning the reasons why there are only two Vietnamese enterprises registering for the event, she said, “With 18 years experience in organising FI in Jakarta, we have noticed a trend of more Vietnamese people going abroad for tourism instead of for business purposes. We realise that lack of foreign language skills is a big barrier for them, making it difficult to communicate with other participants."
According to Rose, in order to encourage Vietnamese enterprises to attend the exhibition, the oganising board would have to provide them with return air tickets, accommodation and other per diem expenses. They also set aside funding to organise field trips for foreign companies who are interested in business opportunities in Vietnam, including visits to milk and beer factories in Vietnam.
“We also encourage Vietnamese enterprises to arrange interpreters to facilitate communication when attending such events,” she noted.
In order to support enterprises that could not participate in the event, the organisation board has also held seminars to connect them with foreign partners. They will also provide them with international directories specialising in enterprises operating in the food and beverage industry.
Dao Van Ho, director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MARD) Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre, said Vietnamese enterprises are not aware of the importance of market strategy. When they take part in certain trade promotion meetings, their focus is usually on short-term sales and entrance fees, forgetting about the long-term benefits of PR and marketing.
