Seminar on Boosting Exports to US Held in HCM City

A seminar on how to find and successfully sell goods to US importers was organized in the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City yesterday with the attendance of Phillip W. Byrd, Director of the American Importers Association (AIA) and over 200 representatives of Vietnam’s leading exporters.

 

At the event, Byrd informed Vietnamese exporters about the US market and talked about issues that Vietnamese businesses need to pay particular attention to when exporting to the market.

 

The director also introduced modern sales and marketing methods, which are necessary for Vietnamese exporters to seek more US partners.

 

To further boost trade activities with US partners, Vietnamese exporters should pay more attention to spur direct marketing to the foreign country, he said, adding that the recent WTO membership of Vietnam will create more business cooperation opportunities for Vietnamese and US enterprises.

 

According to the 13,000-member AIA, Vietnam exported US$6.4 billion worth of goods to the US in the past nine months of this year, up 32 per cent on-year. The nation’s export value stateside is forecast to hit a record of over US$9 billion this year, an on-year growth of 36 per cent.

 

The sharp increase mainly results from a high consumer confidence rate in the US and increased marketing by Vietnamese companies, Byrd explained.

 

“Though all sectors show signs of increasing, Vietnam exporters in furniture, leather products, apparel and accessories, textiles and fabrics, and food sectors will find the greatest potential to see their exports stateside grow in 2006 and 2007,” said he at a recent meeting of US importers keen on doing business wit Asia.

 

A recent survey involved 1,000 US importers showed that 79 per cent of them had a positive opinion of Vietnamese products and would be willing to purchase Vietnamese goods, according to the AIA. The high percentage of positive opinion was due to new trade agreements and to the increased awareness of US importers to the products available from Vietnam, said Byrd.

 

Currently, the Southeast Asian country is the US’s 37^th largest import trading partner.

 

In 2005, the two-way trade reached $7.8 billion. Of the whole, Vietnam earned $6.6 billion from exports and spent $1.2 billion on imports from the US.