The golden age of domestically-made consumer plastics products is nearly over as imported products are dominating the domestic market, the VietNamNet said.
Analysts say that sales of imported plastics products at supermarkets have increased to 30 per cent-50 per cent from 10 per cent-20 per cent of total plastic products sales, meaning that domestic producers are losing their home market to imports.
Displayed imported plastics products now occupy 30 per cent-50 per cent of the space on shelves at big supermarkets, like Co-op Mart, Maximark and Citimart, while the figure was just 20 per cent two years ago. Vietnamese consumers now tend to buy foreign-made products imported by Bai Tho, Tuan Anh, Song Nhu and Quang Tri Companies.
According to Maximark, China-made plastic products now make up 50 per cent of plastic product sales, while Thailand-made products 30 per cent. The other products on sale are sourced from Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
Ngo Van Hai, deputy director of Citimart, said that only a few Vietnamese consumers purchase domestically-made products for normal use, while the majority of customers prefer imports for three reasons. Imports have good designs and bright attractive colors, while they are just 5 per cent-10 per cent more expensive than domestically-made products.
At Maximark, the ratio of domestically-made products and imports sales is 50:50, though domestic products are cheaper than imports.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, marketing director of Dai Dong Tien Plastics Company said supermarkets in Vietnam are selling products imported from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, consumers of those countries are buying products made by Vietnam’s Dong Tien, Duy Tan, Tien Phong and Tan Tien companies.
Vietnam was estimated to export US$590 million worth of plastic products in the first eight months this year, up 32.9 per cent on-year while the country imported an estimated of US$2.13 billion of plastic in the period, up 40.3 per cent on-year. (VietNamNet, GSO Aug 2008)
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