Handicrafts should stick to uniqueness – Expert

15 Oct '09

2 min read

Ms. Setsuko Okura, a handicrafts specialist stated that there is need for Vietnamese handicraft industry to concentrate on the uniqueness of the products in order to have competitive stand in the lucrative Japanese market.

Low-cost Chinese handicraft items, are the competitors of Vietnamese handicrafts in Japanese market, with whom the Vietnamese products can't compete in terms of cost, she added, while, addressing a seminar held in HCM City by the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency in collaboration with the ASEAN-Japan Centre.

The Japanese market imports handicraft products from a number of countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, India, and Spain. Ms. Setsuko termed the Japanese market as a market hungry for handicrafts as Japanese people are highly affectionate about art and creativity.

These people like to buy Vietnamese hand-made embroidery products and hoped that the Vietnamese craftsmen will conserve and develop its traditional hand-made products to compete in the international market.

Further, she underscored the need to know the customs, consumption habits and market demands of Japan, and to be aware of the delivery deadlines, import regulations as well as Japanese industrial standards.

Along with this, quality of the product is also significant. Vietnamese handicraft exporters should also enclose catalogues in Japanese language together with English, while selling their products, suggested a representative from the ASEAN-Japan centre.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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