Export Capacity Assessment for the Vietnam Craft Sector

Economics, Markets, Marketing, Trade, Organisation, Institution, Movement, Report, Evaluation, Monitoring

Export Capacity Assessment for the Vietnam Craft Sector: Aid to Artisans and Handicraft Research and Promotion Centre

Aid to Artisans

Export Capacity Assessment for the Vietnam Craft Sector Aid to Artisans & Handicraft Research & Promotion CentreVietnam’s growing craft sector offers opportunities for traditional artisans across the nation to build livelihoods and preserve their cultures. It represents one of the top ten industries for export revenues in Vietnam, providing thousands of artisans with incomes and opportunities. In recent years, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has recognized the earning potential of handcrafts and set targets of US$1.5 billion in annual craft exports by 2010, with the US market being a major target market to reach this goal. This trend differs from just six years ago when Europe remained the largest source of export sales for Vietnamese handcrafts accounting for 44% of the market.1 However with the series of US-Vietnam Textile Agreements initiated in 2003, sales of Vietnamese handcrafts to the United States have increased making it “the number one importer for Vietnamese home decorations and handicrafts for the last three years [2003-07].”2 Although sales to the US have allowed Vietnamese craft exports to improve, artisans continue to face strong competition from China and Thailand. In addition, the declining U.S. economy has the potential to weaken craft exports to the United States eroding Vietnam’s current main export market. Background Despite the Vietnamese craft sector’s sophistication and supportive government polices there is a continuous need to improve access to market information, produ...
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