Project VIE/61/94

Support to Trade Promotion and Export Development in Vietnam

Sector Export Strategy – Export Marketing Guidelines

EXPORT MARKETING GUIDELINES

Fruit and Vegetables Sector

Prepared by

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai

Mai The Cuong

Submitted to

Trade Promotion and Export Development Project

Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, MOT

June 15, 2007

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Table of Content

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6

2 International Marketing Environment Audit......................................................... 8

2.1 External Environment Audit ............................................................................. 8

2.1.1 General Environment Analysis .................................................................. 8

2.1.2 Industry Analysis ..................................................................................... 11

2.1.3 Identifying Countries With The Greatest Market Potential For Exporting

Your Product ..................................................................................................... 15

2.2 Internal Environment Audit (Company Analysis) .......................................... 17

2.2.1 Product Range .......................................................................................... 17

2.2.2 Relationship With Growers...................................................................... 18

2.2.3 Ability To Meet Requirements Of Quality .............................................. 19

2.2.4 Transportation Means............................................................................... 20

2.2.5 Preservation.............................................................................................. 21

2.2.6 Brands and Trademarks............................................................................ 22

2.2.7 Packaging ................................................................................................. 23

2.2.8 Export Experience And Language Skills ................................................. 23

2.3 SWOT Analysis For Exporters ....................................................................... 24

3. Developing Company’s Export Objectives and Strategies ................................ 27

3.1 Company’s Readiness To Export.................................................................... 27

3.2 Company’s Export Objectives And Strategies................................................ 28

3.2.1 Export Objectives..................................................................................... 28

2.3.2 Export Strategies ...................................................................................... 28

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4. Export Marketing Programs............................................................................... 30

4.1. Preparing Products For Export....................................................................... 30

4.1.1 Decide What Product Most Suitable for Export ...................................... 30

4.1.2 Find And Sign Contracts With Importers ................................................ 30

4.1.3 Sign Contracts With Growers And Suppliers .......................................... 32

4.1.4 Other Activities ........................................................................................ 32

4.2 Promoting Your Products................................................................................ 32

4.2.1 Preparing marketing materials ................................................................. 32

4.2.2 Trade Fair participations .......................................................................... 37

4.3 Export Pricing ................................................................................................. 42

4.3.1 Factors Affecting Pricing Decision.......................................................... 42

4.3.2 Methodology for Export Price Setting ..................................................... 43

4.4 Export Distribution.......................................................................................... 44

4.5 Export Documentation .................................................................................... 46

5. International Market Research Issues ................................................................ 48

5.1 Sources Of Information And Methods Of Acquiring Market Information .... 48

5.2 Field Study And The Associated Issues.......................................................... 50

5. Appendixes......................................................................................................... 51

Appendix 1 H.S. Codes Of Selected F&V............................................................ 52

Appendix 2 Major International Markets For Vietnamese F&V.......................... 61

Appendix 3 Chambers Of Commerce & Trade Agencies..................................... 62

Apendix 4 Vietnam’s Trade Agencies In Foreign Countries................................ 63

Appendix 5 Trade Fairs......................................................................................... 67

Appendix 6 Major Freight Forwarders And Shipping Companies In Vietnam... 69

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Appendix 7 Cultural Factors ................................................................................. 75

Appendix 8 Information Sources about Market Entry Requirements .................. 80

6. References .......................................................................................................... 82

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List of Figures and Tables

Table 2.1. Product Range Form ............................................................................ 17

Table 4.1. Documentation required for exporting to EU market .......................... 46

Figure 4.1 Business Cards Of Two Potential Importers In Dubai ........................ 34

Figure 4.2 At A F&V Trade Fair .......................................................................... 40

Figure 4.3 Distribution Channels – The Netherlands ........................................... 44

Figure 4.4 Market Channels in the Gulf Countries - UAE ................................... 44

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1 Introduction

Fruit and Vegetables (F&V) sector is one priority of the Project VIE/61/94 which

supports to Trade Promotion and Export Development in Vietnam. The main

objective of the project is to assist the Government of Viet Nam in achieving export

growth rate targets set for the decade. For this purpose, the project has been

assisting VIETRADE/Ministry of Trade in the development of a National Export

Strategy and in strengthening the capacity of VIETRADE as the focal point for a

national trade development network.

This Export Marketing Guideline (EMG) should be read together with the Export

Marketing Strategy (EMS). The strategy has updated the national export

development strategy; trade support network at the national level which consisting

of Government, trade support institutions and exporting enterprises.

This EMG provides information and tools for current and potential exporters from

Vietnam, especially small and medium enterprises. The fundamental process of

writing EMG and EMS is to ensure private sector leadership and public sector

support with a comprehensive scope. EMG and EMS cover both fresh and processed

fruit & vegetables with more emphasis on fresh sector. Fruit and vegetables are

defined as the ones in the categories 7, 8 and 20 of Harmonized Commodity

Description and Code System. These mainly analyze the sector over the last ten

years, especially in the period 2000-2005 and aims at providing measures for the

next 3-5 years.

Information sources are as follows:

• Secondary inputs are from reports of MARD, MOT, UNCTAD/ITC, and

CBI.

• Primary inputs are from stakeholders including enterprises, MARD, MOT

and support agencies through seminars, interviews, group discussions, and

field studies.

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The first part of EMG provides tools for auditing internal and external marketing

environments. The second part guides exporters to come up with their export

strategies and objectives. The third part helps exporters to make a comprehensive

marketing program which is from preparing products, promoting products, pricing

products to selecting distribution channels and dealing with documentation issues.

The fourth part introduces tools to market research. Appendixes and references are

provided at the end of this EMG. Selected and practical examples are based on

current issues and trends in the F&V sector.

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2 International Marketing Environment Audit

2.1 External Environment Audit

The main purpose of auditing/scanning the external marketing environment is to

identify opportunities and challenges facing your company when exporting F&V.

2.1.1 General Environment Analysis

There are many steps involved in the process of becoming a successful exporter.

When your company thinking about exporting some F&V, you need to understand

why you want to export, what the difference is between domestic marketing and

export marketing, what the various environments are that you will encounter in

international trade and the trade barriers you may face in the international

marketplace.

Specifically, you need to consider and answer the following questions.

• What are the benefits of exporting your F&V?

• What are the drawbacks to exporting your F&V?

• What would be the difference between selling your F&V in Vietnam

market and exporting them?

• What are the various aspects of environment that you may encounter when

exporting your F&V? This issue will be discussed in more details in the

following section.

Dealing With Export Environments

One of the major marketing challenges that face your company is how to overcome

the barriers resulting from the different environments that you will encounter in

exporting. These environments include:

The Socio-Cultural Environment

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In the context of the socio-cultural environment, there are a number of factors that

you will need to consider. These include language, material culture, aesthetics,

social organization, religious beliefs, attitudes, values, space and time. The

increasingly competitive international business environment calls on exporters to

tailor or adapt their business approach to the culture and traditions of specific

foreign markets. The inability or unwillingness to do so could become a serious

obstacle to success of your company.

The task of adjusting to a new cultural environment is probably one of the biggest

challenges of export marketing. You should remember that your decisions or

evaluations that is acceptable to Vietnamese culture but may be unacceptable in a

foreign environment. Specifically, you should know the cultural factors that could

affect sales of your product to a specific market/country.

The questions presented in the following should be answered for each

market/country:

• What are spoken and written languages?

• What is education level?

• What is the dominant religion?

• What are attitudes towards foreign products? For example, in the US/ EU/

Dubai/UAE how people feel and view Vietnam’s products in general, and

Vietnam’s F&V in particular?

Appendix 7 shows some examples about cultural factors and their effects on doing

business.

The Economic Environment

When striving to identify potential countries to export your products, one of the

major differentiating factors will be the differences in the economic environments

that exist between potential target countries. Decisions about how much of a product

people buy and which products they choose to buy are largely influenced by their

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purchasing power. If a large portion of a country's population is poor, the market

potential for many products maybe lower than it would be if they were reasonable

prosperous. If a country is expected to enjoy rapid economic growth and large

sectors of the population are expected to share in the increased wealth, sales

prospects for many products would clearly be more promising than if the economy

were stagnating. Thus, if you are comparing potential countries to focus your export

efforts on, you must consider factors such as the general economic outlook,

employment levels, levels and distribution of income, growth trends, etc.

For example, UAE including Dubai could be considered as potential market for

exporting products including F&V. The UAE is one of the world's wealthiest

countries. The overall performance of the UAE's economy is heavily dependent on

oil exports, which account for over 30 percent of total gross domestic product

(GDP). Growth in real GDP was 7.2 percent in 2005. The non-oil segment of the

UAE's economy also is experiencing strong growth (source:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/UAE). The UAE is a federation of seven

emirates, of which the two largest emirates -- Abu Dhabi and Dubai -- provide over

80 percent of the UAE's income. Dubai with a GDP growth of over 16.7 % per

annum has become fastest growing economies in the world. Although Dubai’s

population is only about 1.8 million, income per capita is quite high (above USD

20.000/year). Also, Dubai Ports are already the principal gateways of re-export and

redistribution, along with channels in Kuwait, Jordan and Oman (source:

http://www.alfajer.net/shipport/dubai.htm).

The Political And Legal Environment

The political environment in which your business operates (or plan to operate) will

have a significant impact on your international marketing activities. Changes in

government often result in changes in policy and attitudes towards foreign business.

You need to find out the answers for the following questions.

• How stable is the political environment?

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• Will government policy influence laws that regulate or tax your business?

• What special legislation must be complied with regarding health and safety

issues?

• Are there any requirements on social accountability (e.g. SA 8000) and are

there any sanitary regulations?

• Which import tariffs & VAT duties apply to your export products? Are

there any international trade agreements which have a positive effect on

tariffs?

The Technological Environment

Changes in the technological environment can have great effects on your business.

You should answer the following questions.

• Does technology offer a new way to communicate with your business

partners (e.g., e-mail)?

• Does technology offer a new, safer or/and cheaper way to transport/handle

your products?

• Any other significantly positive and negative effects of changes in

technology on your exports (e.g., effects on your product quality,

appearance, packaging, etc)?

For example, Dubai has a good logistic infrastructure with technology support such

as cool chain system in Flower Center. F&V imported from Vietnam could be stored

and packed here before being delivered to supermarkets in Dubai or re-exported to

other neighbor markets.

2.1.2 Industry Analysis

When exporting your products, you need to understand the F&V industry’s

characteristics (e.g., in Vietnam: small-scale growers with less commitment to

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collectors/exporters; too many intermediaries involved in the distribution chain;

poor Post Harvest Practices, etc. This creates critical challenges to Vietnamese

exporters in ensuring the product quantity and quality for exports, especially for

exports of fresh F&V); understand the major players in the industry, the industry

growth rate, major trends in the industry; understand your customers with their

needs and requirements.

Competition Analysis

Competitors will have a direct effect on the potential success of your trade

opportunities.

Therefore, it is important for you to answer the following questions regarding your

competitive environment.

• Is there much competition in the markets? Who are the main competitors?

• What products compete with yours? Who are the suppliers or

manufacturers of those products? What can you make that is different and

better?

• Who are the main clients of your competitors?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your main competitors compared

to your company?

• How many competitors from Vietnam are active in the target market (e.g.,

in Dubai, in EU, or in Japan)?

For example, if you are interested in exporting F&V to Japan, by researching this

market you can understand that the demand for F&V has been increasing. However,

domestic production is unable to meet the demand. Japan mainly imports F&V from

the US, China, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. In Japanese market, the main

competitors of Vietnamese exporters are China and Thailand which supply similar

tropical F&V as Vietnam. China is one of the biggest countries in fruit production in

the world. In Japan market, China holds the position as the number one exporter for

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such fruits as apples, mandarin and pears, etc. China exports many similar tropical

F&V as Vietnam to Japan market and China has advantages over Vietnam’s

exporters in terms of infrastructure, product quality, costs, and advanced technology.

Similar to China, Thailand has more advantages in production, storage, and

technologies (in harvesting, storage, processing, and packaging). These competitors

enjoy more favorable conditions for exporting F&V, especially the fresh ones (Bui

2005).

If your company is interested in exporting F&V to Dubai, you will have to compete

with strong competitors including Thailand, China, and Kenya. These competitors

have been to this market and have set up their foothold here. The F&V are imported

to Dubai using airfreight. Thailand can offer wider variety of F&V to the market at

more competitive prices. In addition, packaging technology and post-harvest

practices of Thailand in the sector is also better than that of Vietnam. China

currently exports variety of fresh vegetables to Dubai at low prices. All these are

challenges for Vietnamese exporters like your company.

Customer Analysis

It is always important to understand your customers.

You need to answer the following questions regarding your potential customers.

• Who are your buyers? Who are the end users of your products (if different

from the buyers)?

• What is the profile of the buyers of your products (e.g., foreign

retailers/distributors)?

• What are your customers’ requirements?

For example, if you are interested in Japan market you may need to know the

important role of importers. The imported F&V could go to importer, then to

consumers via wholesaler and retailer, or it could go directly from importer to

retailer. In Japan, F&V is distributed through wholesalers market. The wholesaler

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plays the role of importer, and the imported F&V is delivered to wholesales market

through sub-wholesalers. The auction is common transaction method where

wholesalers purchase from daily auction and provide products to retailers. 85% of

fresh fruit is transferred in this way in Japan (Bui 2005).

Therefore, you need to understand the requirements of importers as well as

consumers (end users). Japanese consumers have very strong preference for fresh

F&V. Although they care about perfect shape and fresh colour they are more

concerned about food safety and hygiene. Pesticide residue and wax on product can

catch much their attention. They do not buy fruit if it has rough patches, spots on the

skin or little misshapen. Japanese feel secure with products with label ‘organic’

(generally it has meaning of safe, clean and health care). If you wish to export F&V

to Japan market with the organic label you need to obtain organic certification. This

is not easy to get the certification and the costs of getting it can be high. Japan,

therefore, can be considered very potential market for exporting F&V (in terms of

the demand) but it is a hard-to-please market since it applies strict food safety-

hygiene, quality and design requirements to import. All kinds of F&V imported to

Japan need to comply with regulations of Law on plants protection and Food

Hygiene.

When supplying European importers, food safety requirements are also critical

issues. ‘Tracking’ (i.e., about the location of products) and ‘tracing’ of goods (i.e.,

about where the products come from) have become increasingly important, and

exporters should meet internationally accepted business standards. However, you

should always discuss with your importer about this issue (CBI 2005).

After conducting the external analysis you should be able to answer the following

questions.

• What is the estimated market size for your potential export products? Try

first to focus on your product group, then on your specific products.

• How has the total market volume developed during the past 3-5 years?

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• How have imports of F&V developed during the past 3-5 years?

• Are importers and potential business partners in the markets interested in

new suppliers of your particular products? What are their requirements?

Information needed to answer the above questions could be found, at first from

secondary data sources such as CBI’s reports and http://www.jetro.go.jp (for Japan

market), http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat (for EU market).

2.1.3 Identifying Countries With The Greatest Market Potential For Exporting Your Product

When you are committed to exports and you have scanned the market developments

and opportunities, now you need to identify countries/markets with the greatest

market potential, select the best country for export and identify leads and contact.

You can follow several steps as follows.

Step 1: Research and select a minimum of five and a maximum of ten countries

which are potential markets for your export. An initial and important source of

information for this step is looking at the statistics showing the major

markets/countries recently imported F&V from Vietnam (see Appendix 2). In

addition, you can search market information such as information regarding the F&V

imported by countries. This information can be obtained from such websites as

www.intracen.org/mns. For example, you come up with the list of initial country

selection including: China, Taiwan, Japan (Asia), Germany, UK, Netherlands,

Belgium (EU), the US, and Dubai.

Step 2: You will screen all variables in the macro environment and select those that

will have an affect on exporting your products. Specifically, you may screen the

following criteria.

• Economic factors: GNP (gross national product), income per capita, interest

rates, distribution of wealth, banking system, etc.

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• Social and cultural factors: major religions, level of education, languages,

code of ethics, attitudes towards foreign products including Vietnamese

ones, etc.

• Demographic and geographic factors: population, age distribution,

population density, male vs. female issue, land use, climate, etc.

• Technology factor: does technology offer a new way to communicate with

business partners; a new/ safer/cheaper way to transport the products? Etc.

• Political and legal factors: political stability, government support to the

industry, tax policy, etc.

For each selected variables, you need to consider the weight of importance of each

then assess the potential level of each country from the list of countries selected in

Step1 (you can give score for each country).

Step 3: You will select the most potential country/market for your export (the one

with the highest score).

For a specific example, you can check The Export-Import Management System

Online (http://www.eimso.com).

Some Suggestions On The Process Of Identifying Your Potential Export

Markets

Markets can be researched using both primary and secondary data sources.

However, primary research very often is time-consuming and expensive. Most

companies make use of secondary data sources to focus their marketing efforts. You

can see the details in Section 5 of this Guideline.

It is important to focus on your product group when researching the potential

markets for your exports. You may not need to put effort into the analysis of the

potential markets for all products if you are specialized in a certain F&V.

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It is important to scan important general consumption patterns and trends like health

food, convenience and exotics, and draw the implications and opportunities for your

products and situation.

During the market assessment you should not only focus on large markets, but also

try to identify possible interesting niche markets that might present export

opportunities for you as a starting exporter.

2.2 Internal Environment Audit (Company Analysis)

2.2.1 Product Range

Product range is a set of products that a company is able to supply to international

market. It always consists of product groups. Each group can be categorized into

several products. One product is categorized into different varieties.

Table 2.1. Product Range Form

Product Variety Size Supply period Packaging Availability

kiwi fruits 'Hayward' extra large all year

300x400 mm one-way cardboard box (single layers with plastic inserts)

500 kg weekly

melons Honey Dew 'Gold Rind' 2 kg November to

February 600x400 mm two-way plastic box 5 tones per season

etc.

Source: CBI (2005)

Foreign buyers sometimes do not use the same name as exporters use. So exporters

need to learn and use the same name while communicating to overseas buyers.

Off-season supply is a demand from China, EU, Russia and North America.

Vietnam has advantage in doing this since it enjoys a wide range of natural climates

ranging from the humid tropics in the south to a temperate climate in the north and

at elevation in the southern and central regions. Thus the country can produce a full

range of F&V crops required by the international markets.

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Questions to be clarified

• What are our current exporting products?

• What are our main products for export at each market?

• What new products should be developed and exported to each market?

2.2.2 Relationship With Growers

A major problem facing Vietnamese exporters of F&V is how to get the regular and

consistent supply of raw material. This applies particularly to the exporters/factories

situated in the city away from the production areas and who are reliant upon raw

material sourced either directly from growers, intermediary agents/brokers, or the

wholesale market. Contracts with growers appear unenforceable and growers

regularly divert product to the wholesale market when prices are higher than the

contracted price. Therefore, these exporters/factories appear reluctant to risk

investment in farming or in providing seed and planting material for contracted

farmers to secure supply of raw material. The exporters/factories situated in the

growing areas are more fortunate in that most were part of the old state farm system

and enjoy an integrated plantation. The plantations have reverted to individual small

farmer ownership but the farmers are organized and advised by the technical staff of

the factories and managed as a plantation.

Questions to be clarified

• Is the supply of company’s export regularly consistent?

• Does company sign contracts with suppliers?

• What is the practice of following contracts’ terms and conditions?

• What is the best practice in relationship with growers? Can company apply

this practice to its relationships?

• What initiatives should be carried out in order to maintain/get regular

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consistency of company’s export?

2.2.3 Ability To Meet Requirements Of Quality

Export of Vietnam’s F&V sector must compete with exporters from Asian region

including Thailand, Philippines, China, Taiwan, Australia and others including

Israel, African, and South American countries.

Main products exporting to distance markets, which are the USA, EU, Russia are

industrial products such as Canned fruit, IQF fruit, Pickled vegetables, Dried fruit,

Concentrated fruit juices, etc. All of these can remain in good quality over long

voyages.

Exporters of fresh F&V face problem of maintaining good quality of F&V to

markets like EU, the USA resulted from (i) far distance to the market; and (ii) weak

post harvest technology.

In order to satisfy concept of good quality, exporters should follow strictly GAP.

EU, Japan, and the USA require strict practice of GAP. The main problem is how to

maintain good quality of the fresh product to these market. Vietnam has not yet

signed animal and plant quarantine agreements with Japan, USA and Korea. This

prevents exporters from expanding its market share in these markets. Japanese

market even requires exporters to buy machinery from Japan to ensure the quality of

products.

Questions to be clarified

• What are quality requirements from each international market?

• Does company meet all these requirements? If not, why?

• What do association and government do to assist company overcome the

issue? What have been done and what not?

• What should company do to overcome the issue?

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2.2.4 Transportation Means

Implementation of transportation V&F from farm to processing plant/packing house

is carried out mainly by small trucks (Red River Delta, Highlands and Mountainous

regions) or by boats (Mekong River Delta). V&F transporting to neighboring

countries (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and China) can be used by lorry. From the

South of Vietnam to Chinese border it can be transported by lorry, train and sea.

Main exit seaports are Saigon port (South of VN), Danang port (in the Centre of

Vietnam) and Haiphong port (in the North of Vietnam). Main airports are Tan Son

Nhat (in the South), Danang (in the Centre), and Noi Bai (in Hanoi).

There are wide ranges of shipping companies, forwarding agents, air shipping

companies present at Vietnam ready to offer services but their freight cost is often a

little bit higher than freight cost from Thailand. Generally, air cargo and container

space are available for exporters but service charge is higher. One reason why

freight is higher could be that transporting volume in two ways from and to

Vietnamese ports is often less than it from Thailand.

For example, Vietnam even faces difficulty to export fresh dragon fruit, the leading

export item. Its main markets are China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and

Malaysia. Currently, export of dragon fruit to Netherlands, Germany, and France,

etc accounts for a very small ratio of the total dragon fruit export. It takes 28 days to

deliver dragon fruit from Vietnam to EU. The dragon fruit then must be kept in

supermarkets from 7-10 days. Totally, it takes about 38 days to deliver dragon fruit

from Vietnam to end-users in the EU while dragon fruit normally maintains good

quality for 20 days. With the participation of Thailand and Malaysia in the world

export of fresh dragon fruit, Vietnam must solve this problem. Interviews with

businesses show that Thailand exporters enjoy an airfreight subsidy of over 30%. To

solve this, preservation and delivery time are the main things to work on for

Vietnam. Netherlands and Belgium, especially Netherlands can be a good choice for

selection of gateway to the EU since Netherlands is a major importer of horticulture

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products many re-exported throughout Europe and the Netherlands would thus

appear to be the gateway to Europe.

Questions to be clarified

• What are main means of transportation from farms to each international

market that company is using?

• How often does company export to each market?

• What is the normal lot size of export?

• Is cold storage available with each mean of transportation?

• What is the cost of transportation?

• What are major challenges that company is facing with in terms of

transportation?

• What should be the best alternative for company considering quality,

delivery and cost requirements from each export market?

• Can company link up with other exporters so that all can have a better deal

with transporters?

2.2.5 Preservation

For Vietnamese exporters, means of transportation and preservation are closely

related. Briefly, some main problems associated with preservation that Vietnamese

exporters must be aware of are as follows.

• Poor Post Harvest Practices that lead to bruising and skin blemishes and

short shelf life.

• Lack of cool chain from field to pack-house causing unnecessary quality

deterioration.

• No dedicated refrigerated export pack-houses equipped with pre-cooling,

hydro/vacuum cooling and cold stores.

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• No dedicated cold storage facilities offering controlled atmosphere (C/A)

storage, ethylene and C02 scrubbing.

Questions to be clarified

• What is the practice of preservation related to company’s export?

• What is particular requirement from international market in terms of

preservation?

• Which transporters can provide required facilities?

• What is the cost of using these facilities?

• What facilities can company invest to have a better preservation?

• What policy should company apply or revise in order to improve post

harvest practice?

2.2.6 Brands and Trademarks

The brands and trademarks of products from Vietnam are not familiar with

international markets. Customers know more about South American countries and

other Asian countries like Thailand and China. Exporters from these two countries

are dynamic and experience with Japanese market, American market, Australian

market, Hong Kong market and Singaporean market.

Questions to be clarified

• Does company export products under registered trademarks or brands?

• If Yes, are these brands and trademarks recognized in international

markets?

• If Not, should company start registering trademarks and brands for its

export products? Who should be responsible for this task inside company?

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2.2.7 Packaging

Exporters in Vietnam sometimes face shortage of packaging materials. Exporters

then must look for imported sources. This has happened in several packaging

factories and had contributed to higher production costs. The fresh V&F exporting

to China (border trade) is mainly packed by local package materials as bamboo

basket, banana leaves, straw, etc so it has undergone quite a loss.

Questions to be clarified

• What are requirements from each international market in terms of

packaging?

• Does company meet all of these requirements?

• Are packaging materials/suppliers available in the Vietnamese market?

• Is there any other alternative for packaging?

2.2.8 Export Experience And Language Skills

Company must identify its experience with export. Company needs to analyze its

success and failure with each product and each market. In addition, company needs

to find out what language should be used for better communication with importers.

For example, while importers from many international markets can use English,

Chinese importers always use Mandarin Chinese or importers from France prefer

French.

Questions to be clarified

• Does company have good personnel for doing export?

• What lessons are learnt from past success and failure?

• Is there any other source that company can ask for supporting its export

activities?

• What language should be used in each export market? Do the company’s

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personnel communicate effectively in prefered working language? If not,

should company outsource translation service and/or train its personnel?

2.3 SWOT Analysis For Exporters

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This analytical

tool helps a company to know better not only its capabilities but also how to take

advantages of external factors.

Strengths

What the company is doing well

--Product range

--Relationship with suppliers

--Packaging capability

--Quality control

--Brands and Trademarks

--Information system

--Cool chain management

--Relationship with importers

--Language skills

--Personnel for export

--etc

Weaknesses

What the company is doing badly

--Product range

--Relationship with suppliers

--Packaging capability

--Quality control

--Brands and Trademarks

--Information system

--Cool chain management

--Relationship with importers

--Language skills

--Personnel for export

--etc

Opportunities

External factors that can transform into

company’s Strengths

Threats

External factors that can transform into

company’s Weaknesses

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--Political situation of domestic market

and overseas markets

--Trade agreements, quarantine

agreements

--Development of transport network

including railways, waterways, roads,

airfreights, seafreights

--Development of post harvest

technology, seeds, cultivation methods

--Demands for products in overseas

markets

--etc

--Political situation of domestic market

and overseas markets

--Trade agreements, quarantine

agreements

--Development of transport network

including railways, waterways, roads,

air-freights, sea-freights

--Development of post harvest

technology, seeds, cultivation methods

--Demands for products in overseas

markets

--etc

Below is one example on SWOT Analysis for one exporter of fresh fruit and

vegetable.

Strengths Weaknesses • Ability to export full range of F&V • Good relationship with growers • Good understanding of quality management

certification (ISO 9001, HACCAP) and quality standards (MRL’s and GAP)

• Experience in supplying a year round supply of wide range products

• English speaking and young personnel with the ability to learn quickly

• Relatively high cost of inputs • Cost of materials is higher than China,

Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, etc from 2 – 5 times

• Processing factories are working far from its full capacity

• Poor understanding and practice of post harvest and storage factors

• Poor facilities for handling, packing, and cold storage for fresh produce

• Inconsistent supply of raw materials for processing factories

• Lack of crop rotation knowledge • Unstable quantity for export at large volume • Poor market information, marketing skills, and

trade promotion • Low recognition of trademarks in the

international market

Opportunities Threats • Increasing domestic demand • Operations of supermarkets and modern

• Lack of adequate air cargo facilities at Hanoi international airport

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distribution channels can have positive impacts on Vietnamese growers

• Increasing demand for tropical fruit and high value vegetables on a year round basis from international market, especially organic tropical fruit

• Fair-trade or organic agreements can create more opportunities to Vietnamese exporters

• Government’s policy in encouraging clusters especially in Southern provinces

• The Vietnam – USA bilateral trade agreement creates favorable conditions for Vietnamese products

• Government’s aggressiveness in negotiating animal and plant quarantine agreements with Japan, Korea, and the USA

• Government’s aggressiveness in assisting companies expand market in EU and the USA by opening new airlines including air-cargo

• More and more international sea freights companies like Mitsui OSK lines are entering Vietnam

• R&D institutions are trying to shorten the gap between research and practice

• New cultivation methods are being introduced • Foreign investors in F&V are coming to Vietnam

and apply advanced practice to serve international market

• Domestic facilities available for pre-packing, bar code, labeling

• Cost of transportation from Vietnam to international market is higher than Thailand from 10-25%

• Fragmented production causes inconsistent quality

• Decision 80 of Government on collecting and packaging activities causes difficulties for exporters

• Research and development institutions is poorly applied to actual fields

• Too many intermediaries in the distribution channel

• Unstable policy of Chinese border provincial authorities

• No agreements on animal and plant quarantine with Japan, Korea, and the USA

• Competitors like Chinese and Thai have established world recognition of their brands

• Too much concentration on close markets prevent exporters expanding new markets

• Technical trade barriers to EU, Japan and the USA

The analysis is different from one exporter to the others. This analytical framework

will be changed overtime since one opportunity can become strengths of the

exporter or one weakness is no longer existed. In addition, one exporter may

consider this factor a strength or opportunity while another company may view it as

a weakness or threat.

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3. Developing Company’s Export Objectives and

Strategies

At this stage, after conducting external and internal analyses you will be able to

come to a decision whether or not to export. If you decide to go to export your

product you need to develop clearly your export objectives and strategies.

3.1 Company’s Readiness To Export

At first, you should clarify your company’s readiness to export (i.e., whether you

have been exporting for long time, you are a newly exporting company or you have

no experience in export).

In order to identify your company’s level of readiness to export and your export

experiences, please answer the following questions (in comparison with your key

competitors):

• Is your company currently exporting? If yes, then to which market/s? Do

you frequently visit the main country/s you export to?

• Have you developed a list of your top target markets? Have you tried to

locate sales agents in these countries?

• What is the level of involvement in international business: filling orders?

Exporting indirectly? Exporting directly?

• How is your company’s international function organized? Within

Sales/marketing Department? Separate Export Department? Have you

developed a business card and basic written profile of your company in

Vietnamese and English which provides information on your company

(production, years in business, employees, etc.) to give to potential

customers? Do you have website and have you researched and listed your

company with every internet search engine and internet F&V industry site?

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• How about your international human resources experiences? Some or no

experience? Any experience in participating Overseas Trade Shows,

overseas sales? How about foreign language skills and communication

skills?

• Are you a member of some F&V Association and aware of the services it

offers to help you in exporting?

3.2 Company’s Export Objectives And Strategies

3.2.1 Export Objectives

Having determined your exportable product/s you need still consider if your export

business adheres to your company’s objectives.

You should answer the following questions.

• What does your company want to gain from exporting your product/s?

• Is the goal of exporting consistent with other goals of your company?

• Are the benefits of export worth the costs of doing it?

After getting the answers for the above questions, if you have come to the decision

to export your product/s you should formulate objectives for your exports. These

objectives should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed).

Your export objectives could regard to increase in sales and profits, gaining global

market share, enhancing domestic competitiveness, etc.

2.3.2 Export Strategies

You should answer the following questions:

• Which specific market/s and market segments are you going to export to?

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In order to be successful in exports, you need to focus on specific markets

and products.

• How is your company going to serve these identified markets? Specifically,

which export product strategy, pricing strategy, promotion strategy and

distribution strategy is your company going to use?

• How can your company compete with your main competitors?

• Do you have lower costs advantages?

• Can you offer product differentiation in terms of quality, quantity, variety,

delivery time, or payment method?

• What are the entry mode of your company and your key competitors?

• Indirect exporting (e.g., export agent, export trading companies)?

• Direct exporting (sales representative, agents, distributors, foreign retailers,

direct sales to end-users, E-commerce, sales/marketing branch)?

• Is your present entry mode strategy effective? (Does it contribute to

achieving your export sales and profitability targets?) Why?

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4. Export Marketing Programs

4.1. Preparing Products For Export

Preparing products for export consists of several steps including (i) to decide what

product is most suitable for export; (ii) to find and sign contracts with importers; (iii)

to sign contracts with growers and suppliers; (iv) and others activities.

4.1.1 Decide What Product Most Suitable for Export

Exporter must match oversea market opportunities with its products and product

range. Sometimes exporter needs to add one or more varieties to its product range.

Sometimes it finds that its current product range does not meet demands and

requirements of one potential export market.

If the answer is “Yes” to most of the below question, then product from the exporter

can be suitable for export:

• Is there a demand for this particular product?

• Is the required quality/quantity/size defined?

• Does the product’s quality/quantity/size meet this requirement? Is it

double-checked by oversea buyers?

4.1.2 Find And Sign Contracts With Importers

In order to sign a contract with importers, exporter must find, evaluate, offer, and

negotiate with importers.

For example, CBI (2005) specified that to find European importers, one exporter can

do as follows:

• To write letters, emails to European companies. In many cases, the

response is negative but exporter should continue to do it.

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• To pay a personal visit to targeted companies. Exporter must make a short

list of potential importers and request for visiting in advance.

• To invite targeted companies to visit exporter’s country.

• To attend/visit international trade fairs.

Evaluation of potential importers must answer the following questions

• Is the importer active in its country or region?

• What position is the importer in its country or region in terms of sale

volume and relationship to distribution network?

• Will the importer be interested in exporter’s product?

• What is the financial situation of the importer?

Exporter must then send the first offer to importers. This initial offer must express

who the exporter is, what exporter is doing, what product range the exporter is

offering, why this product range is suitable for the importer, and how to contact the

exporter.

After initial contacts, exporter must come up with the specific offers and do the

negotiation with importers. Contents include (i) details of product offered; (ii) price

in accordance with Incoterm 2000 and quantity; (iii) delivery method. Sometimes,

exporter must send sample of its products to importers.

Initiatives and follow-up activities are essential to success in this period. Exporter

must check whether importers receive its offer or not. If possible, please ask them

how the exporter can improve its offer. Invitation to visiting exporter’s company is

also good.

A sample contract should be referred to before signing contracts with importers.

Exporters who are doing the export the first time should ask Vietrade and/or

associations for assistance on the issue.

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4.1.3 Sign Contracts With Growers And Suppliers

This step must be done parallel with “find and sign contracts with importers” step.

Some exporters in Vietnam even sign contracts with growers and suppliers a year

before they can export one particular product. Good practice shows that close

relationship with growers and suppliers is critical to maintain consistency of quality

and quantity for export.

4.1.4 Other Activities

Other activities consist of (i) to monitor production to meet quality requirements

from oversea market; (iii) to package product; and (iii) to transport product.

4.2 Promoting Your Products

If your products have good image in the market, it would help you attract more

customers and give you favorable position in negotiation with the customers.

Therefore, it is critical for you to find out effective ways to promote your products in

the targeted markets. In principles, you can use a number of tools to promote your

products including advertising, sales promotion, public relations (PR) and direct

selling. However, given limited budget, especially for small and medium enterprises,

you may need to have wise selection focusing on the promotion tools that can help

you achieve your promotion objectives at reasonable expenses. The following

section presents some effective promotion activities/tools that are commonly used

by exporters like your company. These include preparation of your marketing

materials and participation in trade fair.

4.2.1 Preparing marketing materials

Marketing materials can help you promote your products effectively. You should

consider the following issues when developing your promotional materials.

Develop a company profile: You need your Company Profile to give potential

customers an idea about your company and if your company can meet their needs.

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In your profile, you should refer to the following points:

• Your company’s background and history

• Your company’s corporate philosophy

• How is your company organized?

• Which products and services are offered?

• Does your company understand the needs and requirements of its target

markets?

The profile should serve to convince your customer of your ability to meet his needs

and to give him the impression that your company’s competence, skills and

reliability are good enough to be taken into consideration as a new supply partner.

This information can be put together on a single page. You can include pictures of

your office and factory, if appropriate. The profile is not the right place to show

pictures of your products unless you concentrate on only one product. The profile

should be easy to update and should be in English and the primary language of your

customers (if relevant and necessary). You should hand it out to customers you meet

with and send it along with your letters and e-mails.

Develop business card: A readable business card is the most important piece of

information you can have. Please make it readable.

Use block letters instead of a fancy print that is difficult to read.

Current telephone, mobile, fax, and e-mail address should be included and new cards

produced if that information changes.

Ensure that the physical address of your office/factory is included so the potential

customer can send something to you by mail or courier or he could show it to a taxi

driver to find your company.

It needs to be in English or the language of your primary customers.

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The logo, letter type and colors should correspond with those of the letter paper. All

vital details should be on the front of the card. Complementary information can

eventually be printed on the reverse side. The size of card should not be larger than 9

x 5.5 cm, alternatively the same size as a credit card, 8.5 x 5.4 cm. Be aware that

cards covered with a plastic film cannot be used to make notes on and cards which

are very shiny or have a silver or gold cover result in problems when copying or

faxing them.

Figure 4.1 Business Cards Of Two Potential Importers In Dubai

You need other Image Carriers, such as letterheads, envelopes, file holders, fax

form, etc. in standardized format.

Letterhead: The size of letter paper should be A4 format (210 x 297 mm). The paper

quality should be at least 80 grams, with a high degree of whiteness or, if desired, a

light color. You have to realize that letter types have an influence on the impression

the letter makes on the reader, such as friendly, businesslike, or reliable. Choose a

letter design which supports the desired image.

Envelopes: Preferably use the color white for the envelope, but you could also use

the same color as the letter paper, if it is not white.

File holders: To keep your company introduction (profile, catalogue...) or a set of

shipping document or other transaction documents.

A brochure of your company (including photos of production sites and produce) can

be useful for promoting new contacts and sales.

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If you have a website, ensure it is up to date. Websites serve as a reference for your

company but also need to be promoted. Many companies spend thousands of dollars

on the creation of a website and wonder why they do not have any visitors. The

reason is simple: no one knows it is there. The company profile, brochures, and

catalogues can be digitalized and put on the Web. By placing promotional materials

on the Web, you will save printing costs, while still being able to update the

information any time without incurring substantial costs. In other words, it is an

economic and flexible promotional tool.

When developing and maintaining your website, you should pay heed to the

following factors:

• Design the site in accordance with the corporate image

• Build a site that looks professional, attractive, and is fast

• Offer the most important information clearly and concisely

• Text blocks have to be short and to the point

• Offer a download option for background information, datasheets and

manuals

• Develop a logical and simple navigation system

• Register the site with all well-known search engines

• Ensure that your site is well linked to other relevant websites

• Check the links regularly

• Update and renew the site regularly, so as to offer up-to-date information

and to encourage repeat visits

• Include a “What‘s New” page

• Promote your site on all the promotional materials

• Track and profile the visitors by offering an e-mail up-date service.

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• It is emphasized that your website cannot be used effectively as a

promotional tool unless you actively attract your target group to visit it.

Professionalize your staff

A potential buyer is impressed when not only do you act professional but when the

staff does too. A good method of accomplishing this is to train several key members

of your staff to be able to make a quick and accurate presentation of their job and

how they are responsible for some part of the production and shipping of the

customers order. This should be done in advance of customer’s visits and the

presentation should be gone over to see that it is accurate but no confidential

information is provided. The goal is for the customer to know that his order is

being attended to professionally from the time it is received until it is shipped.

Professionalize your communications

Although it is not likely, it is possible that a customer will buy from you but never

visit your office. It is likely that a customer or potential customer will communicate

with you for some time before visiting your office. A mistake many companies

make is to not make a major effort to professionalize their office communications.

You should insure that if you have e-mail, you have a policy that it is checked and

responded to promptly. Even if the response is “we have received your query and

will answer tomorrow.” Fax machines often run out of paper and continue to ring or

customer faxes are collected but not acknowledged. Company telephones are

answered by people who speak only the native language and hang up if there is a

foreign language on the other end.

The way your company communicates reveals a great deal of information about

your professional conduct to a potential customer. Professionalizing your office

communication is very inexpensive yet pays off substantially over time

(VIETRADE 2006).

In EU, constant, prompt and reliable communication is a vital prerequisite for

maintaining a long-term business relationship with your customers. Small

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companies should also be reachable by (mobile) phone, fax and e-mail at office

hours (CBI 2005).

4.2.2 Trade Fair participations

Each year many trade fairs take place in countries around the world. At the fair you

will encounter potential customers, can check their reaction to your offerings, and

can have a source of product ideas. You also can get information regarding your

competitors’ products and customers’ reaction to them. Potential distributors or

agents are also likely to be at the fair. It is good for you to achieve multipurpose

when participating in a trade fair because many of the relevant actors are gathered

together at one time and place. There are several issues that you need to consider

when you are interested in trade fair, including selecting the right trade fair,

preparing, participating and following up.

• Selecting the Right Trade Fair

It is important for you to select the right trade fair to participate in. A trade fair

covering your business’ product line and geographic interests can be a valuable

opportunity for introducing and selling your products, as well as gaining marketing

intelligence. It is important to note that before deciding to attend a trade fair, you

should thoroughly study the type of the fair. Some trade fairs organized mainly with

the attendance of the importers and they may not be suitable for exporters like you to

exhibit.

You may choose one or two trade fairs only to take part in, but then participate

continuously, in order to turn first contacts into real business and develop stable

partnerships. Do not expect too much from a first participation. In general, you may

need to attend two to three trade fairs before you can actually develop business.

You may find useful information on trade fairs in databases such as www.tsnn.com,

www.exhibitions-world.com, and www.auma.de. You can also find trade fairs

through many Export Promotion Agencies, Associations and you can get

information through discussing with other companies who have participated in trade

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fairs before. Every trade fair organizer has its own website, e.g.

http://www.anuga.com and http://www.fruitlogistica.com in Germany, or

http://www.sial.fr in France, and http://www.agftotaal.nl in Netherlands (see also

Appendix 5).

• Trade Fair Preparations

To obtain maximum success of participating in a trade fair, several suggestions with

regard to your preparations are as follows.

It is recommended that you should once attend the trade fair as a visitor before

attending the fair as an exhibitor. By doing so you can learn and understand:

• What is the overall character of the show: design, quality, price level? What

kinds of products are being shown? What kinds of businesses are

exhibiting?

• Product and consumption trends

• What kinds of booths are heavily frequented?

• How are products displayed, how are booths arranged?

• What networking services are provided by the show management (buyer’s

contacts, sales reps), what services are provided for exhibiting: storage,

lighting, carpeting, booth displays, exhibitor directory?

Costs and logistics, which become an important issue once you have decided to

actually participate in the fair.

Before attending the trade fair, you should obtain a list of exhibitors and attendees

from the previous trade fair from the organizer. The contact information of some

trade fair organizers in EU is presented in Appendix 5.

You could select the names on the list those are relevant to your needs and likely

belong to your target market. If you want to export fresh F&V, you may pay more

39

attention to the exhibitors who provide fresh F&V because they are more likely your

customers than those provide processed F&V.

Write a letter to the companies on the selected list; explain who you are, which

products your company offers, and that you will be at the trade show in booth X, and

would like to invite them to visit your stand. Send the letter by fax or mail a month

or so ahead of the trade fair. Any replies you receive should be followed up prior to

or during the trade fair.

You should prepare the necessary company documentation (e.g., order sheets, price

lists, catalog, website, leaflets, business cards, etc.) ready for dissemination to

potential customers at the fair.

You should consider budget issues before you decide to participate in a fair.

Budgeting will be a challenge if you are a first time exhibitor at a fair. You need to

calculate all expenses including visa fee, air-ticket, hotel, food, stand rental,

marketing documents, etc. (VIETRADE 2006). If you are interested in attending

trade fair in New York (USA) and Dubai/UAE you can consult and get support from

Vietnam Promotion Center (Ministry of Trade) in New York and in Dubai,

respectively. More detailed information about services provided by these Promotion

centers is presented in Appendix (attached document).

In order to have a good preparation for trade fair participations, you could also read

such manuals as follows:

“Show master" from CBI (www.cbi.nl)

“Successful participation in Trade Fairs“ from AUMA (www.auma-fairs.com)

“From Contacts to Contracts” (www.sippo.ch).

• Participating in the Trade Fair

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Figure 4.2 At A F&V Trade Fair

Source: Bao Thanh Company

At the trade fair, you need to be proactive in marketing your company. Specifically,

you should pay attention to the following issues.

Decoration: it is critical that you create an attractive booth that will catch the

attention of passing buyers/visitors. It is more important that the way you decorate

your booth and your products presented there can convey the image of your

company, and even the image of Vietnamese F&V in the world market.

Make sure that you get the business card or contact information from every

prospective customer who visits your boot. Keep these cards separate and after the

show send them a letter or e mail thanking them for their interest and asking them

how you both can proceed in establishing a business relationship.

The performance of the staff during the trade fair has an important role ensuring the

success of your participation. Make sure that your staff is available at the stand to

welcome visitors, to answer questions and to establish personal contacts. In order to

increase the effectiveness of your sales staff during the trade fair, there are several

suggestions for your consideration as follows.

Your staff should be trained and equipped with necessary product information and

communication skills: Sales staff should be able to answer all potential customers’

questions, and should be open and friendly.

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Your staff should be able to explore customers’ interests in your products, and

obtain information about the visitors that will help you later on to decide what

direction the discussion should take. Having the visitor contact form ready to fill in

is good.

Your staff should never give an untrue answer; do not promise what your company

cannot do afterwards.

Wearing at the trade fair: “Ao dai”/long dress could be a good selection for female

Vietnamese exhibitors.

Language: your staff should be able to speak English or another language (if

relevant). In order to make sure the communication between you and potential

customers can go smoothly, you may want to hire Vietnamese students who study

overseas to assist you as translators during the fair.

Always keep the stand neat, tidy, and attractive. (VIETRADE 2006).

• After the Trade Fair

You may need to consider several issues with regard to post- trade fair as follows.

Follow-up: The contacts you make during the trade fair are just the beginning of

your efforts to build up business relationships with your potential customers. In

many cases, a prospective customer has to be approached several times before a

business deal is closed. Therefore, it is important to have a plan to follow-up the

contacts made at the fair.

When you follow-up with actual or potential customers who visited your booth, you

should:

• Send a note of thanks for their visit

• Send all documents or quotations which were promised by you/your staff

• Provide further information upon customer’s request

• Arrange further appointments and designate relevant staff to consolidate the

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initial contacts

Additional activities: Participating in a trade fair is costly. Therefore, you should

optimize your time by visiting some stores/markets or importers during (if possible)

and immediately after the fair. Visits of stores/markets and potential customers can

give you clearer ideas about the current consumer trends, common products

available in the markets, where you can sell your products to, whether your

potential customers are interested in your products and what are their requirements.

Through your visits you also can obtain important information such as how products

are packaged and displayed, what is the price level, where products come from, etc.

In addition to the above promotion tools, exporters like you can consider some

other tools such as developing your professional website, conducting some sales

promotion campaign (e.g., sending some female sales staff in ‘ao dai’ to some

supermarkets in the targeted country to provide free sample of F&V to potential

consumers), building business network with relevant organizations such as foreign

Embassies and Trade Promotion Associations/organizations in Vietnam. Generally,

you need to be creative to find effective ways to promote your products given your

modest budget.

4.3 Export Pricing

4.3.1 Factors Affecting Pricing Decision

Several factors affecting pricing decision. These include competition; cost; and

demands for the product.

• Competition reflects the price of competitors as well as number of

competitors in one certain international market.

• Cost is derived from production, packaging, handling, calibrating, and

promotion expense.

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• Demand for product reflects both the quantity and price that buyers from

international market are willing to pay for products from exporter.

4.3.2 Methodology for Export Price Setting

There are two ways to calculate export price. They are (i) domestic price; and (ii)

incremental cost pricing (CBI 2005).

• Domestic price: This way uses domestic price of the product and adds up

export cost like packaging cost, transportation cost, and custom cost,

shipping and insurance fees.

• Incremental cost pricing: This way uses cost of producing and selling to

export market as a base. Exporter then marks up the price so that it reaches

a certain level of expecting profit margin.

Example of export cost calculation is provided as below.

Total costs per unit + Profit + Commissions + Domestic banking fees + Export packing + Freight forwarding and documentation fee + USDA inspection and phytosanitary certificate fees + Other direct expenses related to special shipping requirements such as temperature recorder charges = EXW price (Ex Works) + Inland transportation = FAS price (Free Alongside Ship) + Terminal handling charges = FOB price (Free On Board) + Ocean freight charges + Ancillary charges = CFR price (Cost & Freight) + Insurance = CIF price (Cost, Insurance, Freight)

Source: CBI (2005)

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4.4 Export Distribution

Importers in foreign countries are good choice for Vietnamese F&V exporters.

Importers in Netherlands, for example, are not only experience with their home

country but also with other EU markets. They can distribute fresh F&V to not only

supermarkets and retailers in Netherlands but also re-export to other European

countries. Importers in the UAE can distribute F&V directly to hypermarkets,

supermarkets, institutions, hotels and also to regional wholesale markets like Saudi

Arabi, Oman, Quatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. The population of Gulf countries is

about 40 million people, of which 70% is expatriate from Asia.

Figure 4.3 Distribution Channels – The Netherlands

Source: Higginson’s Mission Report (2006)

Figure 4.4 Market Channels in the Gulf Countries - UAE

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Source: Higginson’s Mission Report (2006)

There are two good internet sites for finding contacts of importers:

http://www.greentrade.net and http://www.europages.com

Trade fairs are good to find importers. Please refer to Part 4.2 for more information

on the trade fairs.

Questions to be clarified

• Who are importers in target markets?

• Where can we find information about them?

• Are they interested in our products?

• What positions are they in the distribution network of target markets?

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4.5 Export Documentation

The use of written contracts is not very popular (amazingly). However, other means

of communication like emails, fax can be used while solving conflicts with

importers. In whatever case, Vietnamese exporters should use international standard

terms to communicate with importers.

• Delivery terms and term of sale should be in accordance with Incoterms

2000.

• Open account is the most favourite term of payment while Letter of Credit

(L/C) is rarely used for export – import of F&V. Open account is now fast

and reliable. International practice shows that importers are normally

transfer the payment within 30 days.

To export to EU, exporters must be aware of non-tariff trade barriers consisting of

(i) product legislation; (ii) market requirements; (iii) occupational health and safety;

and (iv) packaging, marking and labeling (CBI 2005)

Table 4.1. Documentation required for exporting to EU market

Non-tariff trade barriers

Description Reference sources

Uniform quality legislation http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/en/index.htm General Food law http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/index_en.html EU marketing standards http://www.defra.gov.uk/hort/hmi.htm Certificate of conformity http://www.defra.gov.uk/hort/hmi.htm Maximum Residual Limits (MRLs) http://www.eppo.org

Product legislation

Phytosanitary regulations and plant protection

http://www.ippc.int

Social Market Requirements --Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000)

http:///www.cbi.org.nl/accessguide Market requirements

Environmental Market Requirements --Organic production, Ecolabels and fair trade labels --Environmental Management Standards (ISO14001, EUREPGAP)

http:///www.cbi.org.nl/accessguide

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Consumer Health and Safety requirements --EUREPGAP on Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) --International Management System based on HACCP and ISO9000

http:///www.cbi.org.nl/accessguide http://www.iso.ch

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

The use of pesticides Good housekeeping Working with machinery and tools, noise and vibration, and physical strain (ergonomics)

http:///www.cbi.org.nl/accessguide

Packaging, marking, and labeling

Subject to EU marketing standards http://www.defra.gov.uk/hort/hmi/common/standard

Source: Composed from CBI (2005)

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5. International Market Research Issues

5.1 Sources Of Information And Methods Of Acquiring Market Information

Your company may research a market by using secondary and primary data sources.

When conducting Secondary Research (desk research) to collect secondary data

(available data), you can collect data from compiled sources, such as trade statistics

for a country or a product. Working with secondary data sources is generally less

expensive and helps your company focus its marketing efforts. As a result, most

small businesses begin researching their markets using secondary market

information. Although secondary data sources are critical to market research, they

do have limitations. For example, the most recent statistics for some countries may

be more than two years old (out of date), product breakdowns may be too broad to

be of much value to a company, the reliability of the information sometimes is in

question, etc.

Popular sources of secondary data include

Trade associations: There is a lot of information on market statistics, up-to-the

minute industry news, trade fairs, importers, and expert analyst opinion which is

provided by these associations.

The General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) or other national statistic offices

Trade journals and trade press

Books, theses on related topics.

International research agencies like Euromonitor (www.euromonitor.com),

KeyNote, Datamonitor (www.datamonitor.com) and Mintel (www.mintel.com),

where you can find a lot of information on markets, consumers’ lifestyle etc.

Trade agencies like VIETRADE, Japan External Trade Relation Organization

(JETRO), the Center for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI, the

Netherlands), the International Trade Center (ITC), Chambers of Commerce and

Industry, etc. Here you can find information on market surveys (segmentation,

49

consumption, competitors, and market entry requirements), market trends, statistics,

etc. Website www.intracen.org is a good source to get global business information

offered by the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO.

For example, if the company is interested in exporting F&V to Dubai market, it is

important to choose the right importing partners in this market. The Vietnamese

exporters themselves should develop good relationship with the importers in Dubai

through visits each other, exchange of information via e-mail, phones, etc. to

understand better the potential business partners’ operation. To support that process,

Consulate General/Commercial Attache, Vietnam Trade Center in Dubai and Dubai

Commercial Department (can see also http://www. dcci.ae;

http://www.dxbcustoms.gov.ae) could help to investigate and provide necessary

information regarding the potential importers in Dubai market, import/export and

customs procedures. These organizations also can help to promote Vietnamese

exporters and their F&V.

Sector-related trade fair websites indicate new trends and often contain complete

contact information about leading market players. For websites see Appendix No.7.

Buying or commissioning market research reports can be expensive. For a fraction

of the cost, and mostly even free of charge, much of the same information can be

gathered from the Internet. The Internet is one of the most important ways in which

an exporter can obtain market information. You can find almost everything there by

using search engines like Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo (www.yahoo.com).

In conducting Primary Research, a company collects data directly from the foreign

marketplace through interviews, store checks, trade fairs, and other direct contact

with representatives and potential buyers. Primary market research has the

advantage of being tailored to the company's needs and provides answers to specific

questions. You can cover some of the missing information in your desk research,

and you may become aware of hidden feelings people have towards your company,

country or product. Even if statistics show a growing market, field research can be

crucial to make the final decision on whether or not to go, and if so, how to do it,

50

etc. The field research should be conducted after desk research to confirm the

findings of the desk research and fill in information gaps.

The following section presents briefly some key issues associated with ‘field study’,

a research method commonly used by many Vietnamese exporters including those in

F&V sector.

5.2 Field Study And The Associated Issues

Field study is considered very practical way to get understanding about the potential

market. However, it is possibly very expensive method (travel ticket,

accommodation costs, etc). In order to be effective in using field study method, there

are several suggestions for exporters as follows.

Prepare working calendar in advance carefully and several alternatives would be

desired. Be flexible to changes; prepare all contact information in the place where

you are going to visit and you may need their help.

Use your time effectively and prepare to work hard: it is a business study, not an

entertainment trip.

Be professional: pay attention to your appearance; be professional and culturally

appropriate in look and behaviors.

Prepare all your product and promotion materials (brochure, product

samples/pictures, price list, etc.), and business card; be ready to meet with your

potential customers.

Be enthusiastic and proactive in meeting and discussing with your potential business

partners: it is very important to show your enthusiasm and commitment in working

with them from the first meeting.

Keep all the contact information carefully (e.g., business cards, brochures and

pictures) for later use (e.g., for following up letters).

51

5. Appendixes

Appendix 1 H.S. Codes of selected F&V

Appendix 2 Major International Markets for Vietnamese F&V

Appendix 3 Chambers of Commerce & Trade Agencies

Apendix 4 Vietnam’s Trade Agencies in Foreign Countries

Appendix 5 Trade Fairs

Appendix 6 Major Freight Forwarders and Shipping Companies in Vietnam

Appendix 7 Cultural Factors

Appendix 8 Information Sources about Market Entry Requirements

52

Appendix 1 H.S. Codes Of Selected F&V

HS

Code: description

070110 Potatoes, fresh or chilled- Seed

070190 Potatoes, fresh or chilled- Other

070200 Tomatoes, fresh or chilled

070310 Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled- Onions and

shallots

070320 Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled- Garlic

070390 Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled- Leeks and other

alliaceous vegetables

070410 Cabbages, cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale and similar edible brassicas, fresh or chilled- Cauliflowers

and headed broccoli

070420 Cabbages, cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale and similar edible brassicas, fresh or chilled- Brussels

sprouts

070490 Cabbages, cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale and similar edible brassicas, fresh or chilled- Other

070511 Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled Lettuce, uce (Lactuca

sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled- - Cabbage lettuce (head lettuce)

070519 Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled Lettuce, uce (Lactuca

sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled- - Other

070521

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled Chicory, uce (Lactuca

sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled- - Witloof chicory (Cichorium intybus var.

foliosum)

53

070529 Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled Chicory, uce (Lactuca

sativa) and chicory (Cichorium spp.), fresh or chilled- - Other

070610 Carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible roots, fresh or

chilled- Carrots and turnips

070690 Carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible roots, fresh or

chilled- Other

070700 Cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or chilled

070810 Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled- Peas (Pisum sativum)

070820 Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled- Beans (Vigna spp., Phaseolus spp.)

070890 Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled- Other leguminous vegetables

070910 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled- Globe artichokes

070920 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled- Asparagus

070930 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled- Aubergines (egg-plants)

070940 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled- Celery other than celeriac

070951 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled Mushrooms and truffles, r vegetables, fresh or chilled- -

Mushrooms of the genus Agaricus

070952 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled Mushrooms and truffles, r vegetables, fresh or chilled- -

Truffles

070960 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled Mushrooms and truffles, r vegetables, fresh or chilled- Fruits of

the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta

070970 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled Mushrooms and truffles, r vegetables, fresh or chilled- Spinach,

New Zealand spinach and orache spinach (garden spinach)

54

070990 Other vegetables, fresh or chilled Mushrooms and truffles, r vegetables, fresh or chilled- Other

071010 Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen- Potatoes

071021

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- - Peas (Pisum sativum)

071022

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- - Beans (Vigna spp., Phaseolus spp.)

071029

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- - Other

071030

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- Spinach, New Zealand spinach and orache spinach (garden spinach)

071040

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- Sweet corn

071080

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- Other vegetables

071090

Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen Leguminous

vegetables, shelled or unshelled, tables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water),

frozen- Mixtures of vegetables

071120

Vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur

water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption-

Olives

071130 Vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur

water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption-

55

Capers

071140

Vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur

water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption-

Cucumbers and gherkins

071190

Vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur

water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption

Mushrooms and truffles, tables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in

brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for

immediate consumption- Other vegetables; mixtures of vegetables

071310 Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- Peas (Pisum sativum)

071320 Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- Chickpeas (garbanzos)

071331

Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- - Beans of the

species Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper or Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek

071332

Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- - Small red

(Adzuki) beans (Phaseolus or Vigna angularis)

071333

Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- - Kidney

beans, including white pea beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

071339 Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- - Other

071340 Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- Lentils

071350

Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- Broad beans

(Vicia faba var. major) and horse beans (Vicia faba var. equina, Vicia faba var. minor)

56

071390 Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split Beans (Vigna spp.,

Phaseolus spp.), d leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split- Other

071410

Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with

high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of

pellets; sago pith- Manioc (cassava)

071420

Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with

high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of

pellets; sago pith- Sweet potatoes

071490

Manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers with

high starch or inulin content, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not sliced or in the form of

pellets; sago pith- Other

080300 Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried

080410 Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried- Dates

080420 Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried- Figs

080430 Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled Walnuts, r nuts, fresh or dried,

whether or not shelled or peeled- Pineapples

080440 Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled Walnuts, r nuts, fresh or dried,

whether or not shelled or peeled- Avocados

080450 Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled Walnuts, r nuts, fresh or dried,

whether or not shelled or peeled- Guavas, mangoes and mangosteens

080510 Citrus fruit, fresh or dried- Oranges

080520 Citrus fruit, fresh or dried- Mandarins (including tangerines and satsumas); clementines, wilkings

and similar citrus hybrids

080540 Citrus fruit, fresh or dried- Grapefruit

57

080590 Citrus fruit, fresh or dried- Other

080610 Grapes, fresh or dried- Fresh

080620 Grapes, fresh or dried- Dried

080711 Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh Melons (including watermelons),

ns (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh- - Watermelons

080719 Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh Melons (including watermelons),

ns (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh- - Other

080720 Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh Melons (including watermelons),

ns (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh- Papaws (papayas)

080810 Apples, pears and quinces, fresh- Apples

080820 Apples, pears and quinces, fresh- Pears and quinces

080910 Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh- Apricots

080920 Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh- Cherries

080930 Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh- Peaches, including

nectarines

080940 Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh- Plums and sloes

081010 Other fruit, fresh- Strawberries

081020 Other fruit, fresh- Raspberries, blackberries, mulberries and loganberries

081030 Other fruit, fresh- Black-, white- or redcurrants and gooseberries

081040 Other fruit, fresh- Cranberries, bilberries and other fruits of the genus Vaccinium

081050 Other fruit, fresh- Kiwifruit

58

081090 Other fruit, fresh- Other

081110 Fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, whether or not

containing added sugar or other sweetening matter- Strawberries

081120

Fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, whether or not

containing added sugar or other sweetening matter- Raspberries, blackberries, mulberries,

loganberries, black-, white- or redcurrants and gooseberries

081190 Fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, whether or not

containing added sugar or other sweetening matter- Other

081210

Fruit and nuts, provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur

water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption-

Cherries

081290

Fruit and nuts, provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur

water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption-

Other

081310 Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this

chapter- Apricots

081320 Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this

chapter- Prunes

081330 Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this

chapter- Apples

081340 Fruit, dried, other than that of headings 0801 to 0806; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this

chapter- Other fruit

081400 Peel of citrus fruit or melons (including watermelons), fresh, frozen, dried or provisionally

preserved in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative solutions

100510 Maize (corn)- Seed

59

110510 Flour, meal, powder, flakes, granules and pellets of potatoes- Flour, meal and powder

110520 Flour, meal, powder, flakes, granules and pellets of potatoes- Flakes, granules and pellets

110610

Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading 0713, of sago or of roots

or tubers of heading 0714 or of the products of Chapter 8- Of the dried leguminous vegetables of

heading 0713

110620

Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading 0713, of sago or of roots

or tubers of heading 0714 or of the products of Chapter 8- Of sago or of roots or tubers of

heading 0714

110630 Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading 0713, of sago or of roots

or tubers of heading 0714 or of the products of Chapter 8- Of the products of Chapter 8

120921 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Lucerne (alfalfa) seed

120922 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Clover (Trifolium spp.) seed

120923 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Fescue seed

120924 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis L.) seed

120925 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Rye grass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., Lolium perenne L.) seed

120926 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Timothy grass seed

120929 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Seeds of forage plants, s, fruit and spores, of a

kind used for sowing- - Other

120991 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Other, s, fruit and spores, of a kind used for

60

sowing- - Vegetable seeds

120999 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing Other, s, fruit and spores, of a kind used for

sowing- - Other

121220

Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried,

whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted

chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human

consumption, not elsewhere specified or included- Seaweeds and other algae

121230

Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried,

whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted

chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human

consumption, not elsewhere specified or included- Apricot, peach (including nectarine) or plum

stones and kernels

121291

Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried,

whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted

chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human

consumption, not elsewhere specified or included Other, st beans, seaweeds and other algae,

sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and

kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium

intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or

included- - Sugar beet

121299

Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried,

whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted

chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human

consumption, not elsewhere specified or included Other, st beans, seaweeds and other algae,

sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and

kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium

intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or

included- - Other

Source: www.intracen.org/mns

61

Appendix 2 Major International Markets For Vietnamese F&V

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Others Other Asian China Japan + USA + EU

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

1.2

14.5 14.716.7

22.1

2.2 2

5.98.1

14.9

9.211

13

19.221.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

JapanUSAEU

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

62

Appendix 3 Chambers Of Commerce & Trade Agencies

International Chamber of Commerce: www.iccwbo.org INTERNATIONAL

International Trade Centre UNCTAD/ WTO: www.intracen.org

AUSTRIA Austria Federal Economic Chamber: www.wko.at

BELGIUM Belgian Chambers of Commerce: www.fedcci.be

DENMARK The Danish Import Promotion Office for products: www.commerce.dk

DUBAI

FINLAND The Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland:

www.keskukauppakamari.fi

FRANCE

Federation of French Chambers of Commerce: www.cci.fr

Coleacp: www.coleacp.org

GERMANY Federal Office of Foreign Trade Information, Germany: www.bfai.de

German Chambers of Industry and Commerce: www.diht.de

GREECE Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI): www.acci.gr

IRELAND Chambers of Commerce of Ireland: www.chambersireland.ie

ITALY Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce: www.unioncamere.it

ICE - National Institute for Foreign Trade: www.ice.it

JAPAN Japan External Trade Organization: www.jetro.go.jp/

NETHERLANDS CBI: www.cbi.nl

Netherlands Chamber of Commerce: www.kvk.nl

NORWAY Chamber of Commerce: www.chamber.no

PORTUGAL Portuguese Chamber of Commerce: www.port-chambers.com

SPAIN Spanish Chamber of Commerce: www.camerdata.es

SWEDEN Chamber of Commerce: www.chamber.se

SWITZERLAND SIPPO (Swiss Office for Trade Promotion): www.sippo.ch

U. KINGDOM www.britishchambers.org.uk

USA U.S. Department of Commerce: www.usatrade.gov

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

63

Apendix 4 Vietnam’s Trade Agencies In Foreign Countries

No Country Address Contact

1 Argentina 11 De Septiembre 1442 Capital

Federal Argentina Tel:5411- 4783 1802 Fax:5411- 4899 1819

2 Australia 797 Bourke St. Redfern Sydney, NSW 2016 Australia

Tel:612- 93101872 Fax:612- 93101929 tvuvn@ihug.com.au

3 Belgium Av. Bel Air, 29 1180 Bruxelles

Tel:32-2 343 62 95 Fax:32-2 347 03 35 canh.côong@worldonline.be

4 Bulgaria Sofia 1113, Iuri Gagarin Str., Block 154A, Ap.3 – Bungaria

Tel:359-2 963 31 82/ 971 45 97 Fax:359-2 963 31 73 (1) vietor@inet.bg (2) trungthuc@mail.ru

5 Canada 153 Gilmour street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0N8-Canada

Tel:1613- 2373816 Fax:1613- 2373858 vinatrade@earthlink.net

6 Cambodia 67, Samdech Pan (ex. 214 st.) Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Tel:85512- 852 533 Fax:85523- 362 682 tvcpc@camnet.com.kh

7 China 32 Guang Hua Lu Jian Guo Men Wai-Beijing Post Code : 100600

Tel:8610- 65325415 Fax:8610- 65325415/65325720 vinaemba@mailhost.cinet.com.cn

8 Cuba Cable16 # 514 E/S ta, 7mn Miramar – Lahabana

Tel:537- 241525 Fax:537- 2453333 vinacom@ceniai.inf.cu

9 Czech-Slovakia

Step¸nsk¸ 4/534, 12 00 Praha 2 Tel:4202. 24942135 Fax:4202. 24942132 voquivan@volny.cz

10 Egypt 23, Kambez street Dokki - Giza – Cairo. A.R.E

Tel:202- 3485721 Fax:202- 3485721 ndt@intouch.com

11 France 44, Avenue de Madrid 92.200 Neuilly Sur Seine

Tel:331- 46248577/46248078 Fax:331 -46241258 secovif@wanadoo.fr

12 Germany Burohaus Storkower Str. 158/109 10407 BERLIN

Tel:49-30-2298198/2292374 Fax:49-30-2291812/2292374

64

doan.tvberlin@t-onlin.de 13 Hongkong 17/F., Golden Star Building

20, Lockhart Road, Hongkong Cable : VINACOR HONGKONG

852- 2529 3721 Fax:852- 2865 7573 vinacorhk@ctimail3.com

14 Hungary 1068 Budapest VI Benczór utca 18. Hunggary

Tel:36-1 352 7956 Fax:36-1 343 3836 commer@elender.hu

15 India 17, Kautilya Marg, Chanakyapuri New Delhi - 110 021

Tel:9111-3012123 Fax:9111-3017714 sqdelhi@del3.vsnl.net.in

16 Indonesia 25, JL. Teuku Umar Jakarta Indonesia

Tel:62- 21 3100359 Fax:62- 21 3100359

17 Iraq AL Mansour- 71/7/17 Dauodi Str., Baghdad – Iraq

Tel:9641- 5439510 Fax:9641- 5411388

18 Iran 180 Lavasani str., Tehran – Iran Tel:9821- 2293530 Fax:9821- 2830876 dinh@www.dci.co.ir

19 Italia Via, Po, 22, 00 198 Roma Tel:390- 684 13913 Fax:390- 684 140 72 thuongvu@tin.it

20 Korea Rep. Rm 401, Byuksong Bldg. 13/3/4 Changchon-dong Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea

Tel:822- 322 3660 Fax:822- 322 3770 tmanhhung@hotmail.com

21 Kuwait P.O. Box 425. Saimiya Kuwait

Tel:965- 5615977 Fax:965- 5645305 tvvnkw@hotmail.com

22 Japan 50-11, Motoyoyogi-cho Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0062

Tel:813-3466-3315/3436 Fax:813-3466-3360 vntrade@coconet.ne.jp

23 Malaysia No 4 Pesiaran stonor 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel:603- 2414692 Fax:603- 2414696 thongtr@tm.net.my

24 Myanmar 15 (F), Thantaman Str., Dagon Township, Yangon, Myanmar

Tel/Fax:95-1-228376 vinemb.myr@mptmail.net.mm

25 Laos 76-Sisangvone Road Bane Naxay, Vientiane-Laos

Tel:856- 21 413410 Fax:856- 21 413115

26 Philippines Unit 3B, LPL Center, 130 Alfaro st,, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Philippines

Tel:632- 813 4048 Fax:632- 750 0161 haoplp@surfshop.net.ph

27 Poland Ul, Polna 48 M. 21 Tel:48-22 825 81 63

65

00-644 Warszawa Fax:48-22 825 81 06 tvu@frico2.onet.pl

28 Romania B-dul lancu de Hunedoara nr.66 Bl. 12B, Sc. B, Et. 4, Ap.46-49 Sector 1, Bucuresti

Mobil:094577710 Fax:401 -2113738

29 Russia No 30-1st TVERSKAYA YAMSKAYA Str, Moscow 125047

Tel:7095- 251 22 85/250 08 48 Fax:7095- 250 05 34 vietor@online.ru

30 Singapore No.10, Leedon Park Singapore 267887

Tel:65 4683747 Fax:65 4670458 vntrade@singnet.com.sg

31 Sweden Upplandsgatan 38 5th Floor 11328 Stockholm Sweden

Tel:468 - 322666 Fax:468- 321580 tvus@hotmail.com

32 Switzerland 18A, ch. Francois-Lehmann 1218-Le Grand Saconnex Geneva (Suisse)

Tel:4122- 7982485 Fax:4122- 7980724 bvcuong@hotmail.com

7, ch, Taverney 128-Le Grand Saconnex Geneva (Suisse)

Tel:4122- 7887023 Fax:4122- 7887024

33 South Africa Rep.

479 Lukas Str., Lukasrand Pretoria 0181, The Republic of South Africa

Tel:27-12 343 7673 Fax:27-12 343 2110 vnto@worldonline.cc.za

34 Taiwan 3F., No. 65, SUNG CHIANG Road, TAIPEI, TAIWAN

Tel:8862- 25166626 Fax:8862- 2504 1761/2516 6625

35 Thailand 83/1 Wireless Road Bangkok 10330, Thai Lan

Tel:662-6508 454 Fax: 662- 2526 950 tvvnbkk@anet.net.th

36 Turkey Istanbul Turkey Gayrettepe Besiktas, Hattat Halim Sok 17.D3

Tel:90212-2748 009 Mobile 090 5357 687 094 Fax:90212-2747881 vuvanqui@hotmail.com

37 U.K 12-14 Victoria Road London W8 5RD

Tel:44-020 793 731 74 Fax:44- 020 793 846 25

38 Ukraine Ukraine, 01011, Kiev Leskova Str. 5

Tel:380-44 294 8116 Fax:380-44 294 8116 tradevn@dsqvn.kiev.ua

39 U.S.A 1730 M ST, Suite 501, NW. Wahing ton DC. 20036

Tel:202-463-9425 Fax:202-463-9439 vinatrade@aol.com

40 Uzbekistan Tashkent, 700060 Nukus str., 16-7

Tel:371- 1339673/1338817 Fax:371- 1339673

66

phong@naytov.com

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

67

Appendix 5 Trade Fairs

A) Databases of International Trade Fairs

AUMA – Association of German trade fair organizers

www.auma.de

Comprehensive database with search-engine for trade fairs worldwide, including trade fair calendar, detailed search filter and basic information on each trade fair. Free of charge.

Trade Show News Network

www.tsnn.com

Database with listings of trade fairs world-wide. Search filters include product group, country, trade fair name and keyword. Free of charge.

Exhibitions-World

www.exhibitions-world.com

Database with listings of trade fairs worldwide, including trade fair news. Registration is free of charge.

Eventsource

www.eventsource.com

Contains a database of 55,000 trade shows, events and seminars.

Expo Base

www.expobase.com

Offers a multilingual directory of 15,000 trade fairs and over 25,000 service providers

Trade Show Centre

www.tscentral.com

Covers 20,000 trade shows, 35,000 conferences and seminar and 500 vendors.

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

68

B) F&V Trade Fair Organizers (in EU)

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

69

Appendix 6 Major Freight Forwarders And Shipping Companies In Vietnam

1 APL Shipping Agency Co. Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 802, Diamond Plaza Bldg., 34

Le Duan St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8221199

Fax: 84-8-8239677

E-mail: quy_van_tran@hcm.vnn.vn

2 Binh Thuan Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 5 Tu Van Tu St., Phu Trinh Ward, Phan

Thiet City, Binh Thuan

Tel: 84-62-8223361

Fax: 84-62-827124

3 APM-Saigon Shipping Co., Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 17 Ton Duc Thang St., Dist. 1,

Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8230015 / 8230173

Fax: 84-8-8230013

E-mail: sgnmtsadm@apmss.com

4 Bonex Shipping Corp.

Địa chỉ: Fl. 6, OSIC Bldg., 8 Nguyen Hue St., Dist.

1, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8245142, 8245144

Fax: 84-8-8245143

5 APM-Saigon Shipping Co., Ltd,

Haiphong branch

Địa chỉ: 4 Tran Phu St., Ngo Quyen

Dist., Hai Phong

Tel: 84-31-841717

Fax: 84-31-841718

6 China Ocean Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 47 Pho Duc Chinh St., Nguyen Thai Binh

Ward, Dist.1, HoChi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8215688

Fax: 84-8-8217125

7 Baikal Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 2E Tran quang Khai St., Hong

Bang Dist., Hai Phong City

Tel: 84-31-821087

Fax: 84-31-842975

8 Danang Ocean Shipping and Trading Co.

Địa chỉ: 156 Bach Danh St., Hai Chau 1 Ward, Hai

Chau Dist., Da nang City

Tel: 84-511-827316, 822068

Fax: 84-511-834796

9 Bien Dong Ocean Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 28 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem

Dist., Hanoi

Tel: 84-4-9346079, 9342448

Fax: 84-4-8240577

E-mail: bisco@fpt.vn

10 Dong Nam A Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 3 Nguyen Tat Thanh St., Dist.4, Ho Chi

Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8253559, 8253608

Fax: 84-8-8253629

E-mail: dnahcm@hcm.fpt.vn

11 Bien Dong Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 52 Nguyen Truong To St., Dist.

12 Eastern Dragon Shipping Co., Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 338 Lach tray St., Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai

70

4, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8255239

Fax: 84-8-8261887

Phong

Tel: 84-31-728107, 728503

Fax: 84-31-728117, 728055

E-mail: edscohpg@hn.vnn.vn

13 Flight Dragon Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 338 Lach tray St., Ngo Quyen

Dist., Hai Phong

Tel: 84-31-728284, 728189, 829013

Fax: 84-31-728285

E-mail: fd1hp@hn.vnn.vn

14 Quang Ninh Shipping Agent

Địa chỉ: 70 Le Thanh Tong St., Hon Gai Ward, Ha

Long City, Quang Ninh

Tel: 84-33-826425

Fax: 84-33-827264

15 Hai phong Shipping Agent

Địa chỉ: 25 Dien Bien Phu St., /5 To

Ward, Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong

Tel: 84-31-551231

Fax: 84-31-551279

16 Saigon Ocean Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 9 Nguyen Cong Tru St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi

Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8296320

Fax: 84-8-8225067

E-mail: saigonship@hcm.vnn.vn

17 Heung-A shipping Co.,

Địa chỉ: 74 Nguyen Du St., Hai Ba

Trung Dist., Hanoi

Tel: 84-4-9424487, 8229484

Fax: 84-4-8220599

E-mail: hashan@hn.vnn.vn

18 Southern Vietnam Container Shipping JSC.

Địa chỉ: 11 Nguyen Hue St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh

City

Tel: 84-8-8263991

Fax: 84-8-9140571

E-mail: vcsemgt@viconshipsg.com.vn

19 Khanh Hoa Ocean Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 40/1 Tran Phu St., Vinh Nguyen

Ward, Nha Trang City

Tel: 84-58-881073

Fax: 84-58-881074

20 Southern Vietnam Container Shipping JSC,

Hanoi

Địa chỉ: 97 Tran Quoc Toan St., Hoan Kiem Dist.,

Hanoi

Tel: 84-4-8223996

Fax: 84-4-8223998

E-mail: vicos_hcq@fpt.vn

21 MOL (Vietnam) Shipping Agent.

Địa chỉ: Room 1003, Fl. 10, 115 Nguyen

hue St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8219121

22 Vietnam National Shipping Lines

Địa chỉ: 201 Kham Thien St., Dong Da Dist.,

Hanoi

Tel: 84-4-8517750

Fax: 84-4-8517746

71

Fax: 84-8-8219123 E-mail: vinalines@fpt.vn

23 North Container Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 11 Vo Thi Sau St., /5 To Ward,

Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong City

Tel: 84-31-836705, 836706

Fax: 84-31-836104

E-mail: viconshiphp@hn.vnn.vn

24 Vietnam Ocean Shipping Co.

Địa chỉ: 215 Tran Quoc Toan St., Dang Giang,

Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong City

Tel: 84-31-731090, 731033

Fax: 84-31-731007

E-mail: vosco.1@hn.vnn.vn

25 Vietnam Shipping Agent

Địa chỉ: 7 nguyen Hue St., Dist. 1

Tel: 84-8-8294162, 8290138

Fax: 84-8-8293626

E-mail: vosasgn@hcm.vnn.vn

26 Vung Tau Shipping and Service Co.

Địa chỉ: 87 Ly Thuong Kiet St., Ward 1, Vung Tau

City

Tel: 84-64-852185, 859003

Fax: 84-64-858919

27 Vung Tau Shipping and Service Co.,

Ho Chi Minh

Địa chỉ: 43 Pasteur St., Ben Nghe Ward,

Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8211857

Fax: 84-8-8211874

E-mail: vishipld@hcm.fpt.vn

28 Nghe An Ocean Shipping and Trading Co.

Địa chỉ: 26 Nguyen Van Troi St., Ben Thuy Ward,

Vinh City, Nghe An

Tel: 84-38-855528/855670

Fax: 84-38-855364

29 Wallem Shipping Vietnam

Địa chỉ: Lf.6, #3 nguyen Tat Thanh St.,

Ward 12, Dist. 1

Tel: 84-8-8265161

Fax: 84-8-8265167

E-mail: wallemvn@hcm.vnn.vn

30 An Giang Shipping Co., Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 65 Pho Duc Chinh St., Nguyen Thai Binh

Ward, Dist.1, HoChiMinh City

Tel: 84-8-8210651, 8-9140520

Fax: 84-8-8217708

E-mail: angiangcompany@hcm.vnn.vn

31 Vinatrans

Địa chỉ: Số 2 Bích Câu, Quận Đống Đa,

Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-7321090, 4-7321970

Fax: 84-4-7322635

E-mail: rclhan@hn.vnn.vn

32 Orient Overseas Container Line Địa chỉ:

201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-8519017, 4-8517750 Fax: 84-4-

8518551 TLX: 411294

GMTHN VT

33 Thami Shipping & Airfreight Co.,Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 161 Khánh Hội, Quận 4, T.P.

Hồ Chí Minh

34 Hyundai Merchant Marine Co.,Ltd. Địa chỉ: 201

Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-8510360, 4-8519524 Fax: 84-4-

72

Tel: 84-8-8263662

Fax: 84-8-8263581

E-mail: operation@thamico.com

8519329

35 CMA-CGM Group

Địa chỉ: 201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà

Nội

Tel: 84-4-8519217, 4-8518313

Fax: 84-4-8519162

36 SIMBA Logistics Địa chỉ:

Tầng 7, 142 Lê Duẩn, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-5185161,

4-5183496 Fax: 84-4-5183496

E-mai: simbahn@hn.vnn.vn

37 Germatrans (Vietnam) Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 201 Khâm Thiên, Đống Đa, Hà

Nội

Tel: 84-4-8519217, 4-88519014

Fax: 84-4-8519162

38 Wanhai Lines Ltd. Địa chỉ:

53 Quang Trung, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-6225602 Fax: 84-4-

8228384

39 Mitsui O.S.K Line

Địa chỉ: 23 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoàn Kiếm,

Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-9332359

Fax: 84-4-9332358

40 Maersk – Sealand Địa chỉ: 17

Ngô Quyền, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-9363695 Fax:

84-4-9363694

41 Vosa Group of Companies

Địa chỉ: 65 Nguyễn Trường Tộ, Ba

Đình, Hà Nội

Tel: 84-4-8434042, 4-8468171

Fax: 84-4-8237379

42 K’Line Địa

chỉ: 74 Bà Triệu, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội Tel: 84-4-

9437709 Fax: 84-4-

9437706

43 Dai Viet Foreign Trade Forwarding

Địa chỉ: 1W Living Quarter 30-4, Dien

Bien Phu St., Ward 25, Binh Thanh,

HCM

Tel: 84-8-8991444

Fax: 84-8-8991273

44 Haiphong Import-Export and Forwarding Co.

Địa chỉ: 53 Luong Khanh Thien St., Ngo Quyen

Dist., Hai Phong City

Tel: 84-31-921232

Fax: 84-31-921902

45 Atlantic Forwarding Ltd.

Địa chỉ: Room 2A2, Fl.1, Han Nam

Office center, 65 Nguyen Du St., Dist. 1,

HCM

46 Haiphong Joint-stock Commerce, Service and

Warehouse

Địa chỉ: 4 Tran Phu St., Ngo Quyen Dist. Hai

Phong City

73

Tel: 84-8-8224372

Fax: 84-8-88224390

Tel: 84-31-859881

Fax: 84-31-859802

E-mail: sevimexcohp@hn.vnn.vn

47 Berkman Forwarding Co.

Địa chỉ: 345E Tran Hung Dao St., Dist.1

Tel: 84-8-8365640

Fax: 84-8-8352768

E-mail: Berkman.fwdg.b.v@hcm.fpt.vn

48 International Freight Forwarding & Container

Địa chỉ: Room 104, Kim Do Business Center, 123

Le Loi St., Dist. 1, HCM City

Tel: 84-8-8218101, 8218179

Fax: 84-8-8210218

E-mail: mschcmc@hcm.vnn.vn

49 Foreign Trade Warehousing and

Forwarding

Địa chỉ: 5A Hoang Van Thu St., Minh

Khai ward, Hong bang Dist., Hai Phong

Tel: 84-31-842421

Fax: 84-31-842227

50 International Freight Forwarding & Container

Địa chỉ: 47 Cua Dong St., Hoan Kiem Dist. Hanoi

Tel: 84-4-8259185

Fax: 84-4-8454819

E-mail: vfchan@hn.vnn.vn

51 General Forwarding Agent JSC.

Địa chỉ: 35 Nguyen Hue St., Dist.1

Tel: 84-8-8214440, 8214441

Fax: 84-8-8214435

E-mail: gmthcm@hcm.vnn.vn

52 Jacky Maeder International Forwarding Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 2 Ngo Duc Ke St., Dist. 1

Tel: 84-8-8299890, 8258733

Fax: 84-8-8299812

E-mail: suzy.monnier@vnhcm.geisforward.com

53 Jupiter Pacific Forwarding J.V.C.

Địa chỉ: 112 Hong Ha St., Ward 2, Tan

Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8450068

Fax: 84-8-8450085

E-mail: jupfwd@fmail.vnn.vn

54 Raf International Forwarding Inc.

Địa chỉ: 99 Nguyen Van Troi St., Phu Nhuan Dist.

Tel: 84-8-8448368

Fax: 84-8-8447965

E-mail: Raf.ocean@hcm.vnn.vn

55 Vietnam National Foreign Trade

Forwarding Co.,

Địa chỉ: 13 Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem

Dist., Hanoi

Tel: 84-4-8457417

Fax: 84-4-8455829

E-mail: vietrans@hn.vnn.vn

56 Vietnam Transport and Freight Forwarding

JSC.

Địa chỉ: 31 Nguyen Cong Tru St., Nguyen Thai

Binh Ward, Dist. 1, HCM City

Tel: 84-8-8213084

Fax: 84-8-8212902

57 Vinako Forwarding JSC. 58 Vinaforwarding Địa chỉ:

74

Địa chỉ: 46 Truong Son St., Tan Binh

Dist., Ho Chi Minh City

Tel: 84-8-8485353

Fax: 84-8-8485355

100-102 Dien Bien Phu , Dakao Ward, District 1,

HCM City.

Tel: 84.8.8207120

Fax: 84.8.8207121

59 M.T.L Co., Ltd.

Địa chỉ: 5Fl, 62A Pham Ngoc Thach St.,

Dist. 03, Hochiminh City, Vietnam

Tel: 84 8 8208093

Fax: 84 8 8208091 / 8209040

60 Round-The-World Logistics Vietnam

Địa chỉ: 15-01 Prime Centre Building

53 Quang Trung St, Hanoi

Tel: (84.4) 9437830/9437398

Fax: (84.4) 9437397

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

75

Appendix 7 Cultural Factors

If you hope to profit from your travel abroad, you should learn about the history,

culture, and customs of the countries to be visited. Flexibility and cultural adaptation

should be the guiding principles for traveling abroad on business. Business manners

and methods, religious customs, dietary practices, humor, and acceptable dress vary

widely from country to country. Consider the following:

Never touch the head of a Thai or pass an object over it; the head is considered

sacred in Thailand.

Avoid using triangular shapes in Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan; the triangle is

considered a negative shape.

The number 7 is considered bad luck in Kenya and good luck in Czechoslovakia,

and it has magical connotations in Benin. The number 10 is bad luck in Korea, and 4

means death in Japan.

Red is a positive color in Denmark, but it represents witchcraft and death in many

African countries.

A nod means no in Bulgaria, and shaking the head from side to side means yes.

The "okay" sign commonly used in the United States (thumb and index finger

forming a

circle and the other fingers raised) means zero in France, is a symbol for money in

Japan, and carries a vulgar connotation in Brazil.

The use of a palm-up hand and moving index finger signals "come here" in the

United States and in some other countries, but it is considered vulgar in others.

In Ethiopia, repeatedly opening and closing the palm-down hand means "come

here."

Understanding and heeding cultural variables such as these is critical to success in

international business travel and in international business itself. Lack of familiarity

76

with the business practices, social customs, and etiquette of a country can weaken a

company's position in the market, prevent it from accomplishing its objectives, and

ultimately lead to failure.

Some of the cultural distinctions that you should pay close attention to are the

differences in business styles, attitudes toward development of business

relationships, attitudes toward punctuality, negotiating styles, gift-giving customs,

greetings, significance of gestures, meanings of colors and numbers, and customs

regarding titles.

In some countries, business people have a very direct style, while in others they are

much more subtle in style. For example, in the Middle East, engaging in small talk

before engaging in business is standard practice.

Attitudes toward punctuality vary greatly from one culture to another and, if

misunderstood, can cause confusion and misunderstanding. Romanians, Japanese,

and Germans are very punctual, whereas people in many of the Latin countries have

a more relaxed attitude toward time. The Japanese consider it rude to be late for a

business meeting, but acceptable, even fashionable, to be late for a social occasion.

In Guatemala, on the other hand, one might arrive anytime from 10 minutes early to

45 minutes late for a luncheon appointment.

When cultural lines are being crossed, something as simple as a greeting can be

misunderstood. Traditional greetings may be a handshake, a hug, a nose rub, a kiss,

placing the hands in praying position, or various other gestures. Lack of awareness

concerning the country's accepted form of greeting can lead to awkward encounters.

People around the world use body movements and gestures to convey specific

messages. Sometimes the same gestures have very different meanings, however.

Misunderstanding over gestures is a common occurrence in cross-cultural

communication, and misinterpretation along these lines can lead to business

complications and social embarrassment.

77

Proper use of names and titles is often a source of confusion in international

business relations. In the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark it is appropriate to

use titles until use of first names is suggested. First names are seldom used when

doing business in Germany. Visiting business people should use the surname

preceded by the title. Titles such as "Herr Direktor" are sometimes used to indicate

prestige, status, and rank. Thais, on the other hand, address each other by first names

and reserve last names for very formal occasions and written communications. In

Belgium it is important to address French-speaking business contacts as "Monsieur"

or "Madame," while Dutch-speaking contacts should be addressed as "Mr." Or

"Mrs." To confuse the two is a great insult.

Customs concerning gift giving are extremely important to understand. In some

cultures gifts are expected and failure to present them is considered an insult,

whereas in other countries offering a gift is considered offensive. Business

executives also need to know when to present gifts - on the initial visit or afterwards;

where to present gifts - in public or private; what type of gift to present; what color it

should be; and how many to present.

Gift giving is an important part of doing business in Japan, where gifts are usually

exchanged at the first meeting. In sharp contrast, gifts are rarely exchanged in

Germany and are usually not appropriate. Gift giving is not a normal custom in

Belgium or the United Kingdom either, although in both countries, flowers are a

suitable gift when invited to someone's home.

Customs concerning the exchange of business cards vary, too. Although this point

seems of minor importance, observing a country's customs for card giving is a key

part of business protocol. In Japan, for example, the Western practice of accepting a

business card and pocketing it immediately is considered rude. The proper approach

is to carefully look at the card after accepting it, observe the title and organization,

and acknowledge with a nod that the information has been digested, and perhaps

make a relevant comment or ask a polite question.

78

Negotiating - a complex process even between parties from the same nation - is even

more complicated in international transactions because of the added chance of

misunderstandings stemming from cultural differences. It is essential to understand

the importance of rank in the other country; to know who the decision makers are; to

be familiar with the business style of the foreign company; and to understand the

nature of agreements in the country, the significance of gestures, and negotiating

etiquette.

It is important to acquire, through reading or training, a basic knowledge of the

business culture, management attitudes, business methods, and consumer habits of

the country being visited. This does not mean that the traveler must attempt to

exercise all local customs when conducting business abroad. It does mean that the

traveler should be sensitive to the customs and business procedures of the country

being visited.

Before traveling to a new market, you should learn as much about the culture as

possible to avoid embarrassing situations. For example, in Mexico it is customary to

inquire about a colleague's wife and family, whereas in many Middle Eastern

countries it is taboo. Patting a U.S. colleague on the back for congratulations is a

common practice, but in Japan it would be discourteous. Clothes, expressions,

posture, and actions are all important considerations in conducting international

business.

Another important consideration is religious and national holidays. Trying to

conduct business on the Fourth of July in the United States would be difficult, if not

impossible. Likewise, different dates have special significance in various countries.

Some countries have long holidays by U.S. standards, making business difficult. For

example, doing business is difficult in Saudi Arabia during the month of fasting

before the Ramadan religious festival.

Try to obtain cultural information from business colleagues who have been abroad

or have expertise in a particular market. A little research and observation in cultural

79

behavior can go a long way in international commerce. Likewise, a lack of

sensitivity to another's customs can stop a deal in its tracks.

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

80

Appendix 8 Information Sources about Market Entry Requirements

Japanese market

Detailed customs procedure when exporting to Japan:

http://www.customs.go.jp/index_e.htm

Details for tariffs in Japan: http://www.apectariff.org/ (Asia Pacific Tariff Database-

APEC)

Standards on materials in general:

http://www.ffcr.or.jp/zaidan/FFCRHOME.nsf/7bd44c20b0dc562649256502001b65e9/a867

f8867f281c6b49256f0f001ed0b9/$FILE/standards%20on%20materials.pdf

and http://www.ffcr.or.jp/zaidan/FFCRHOME.nsf/pages/e-links-j

Food Sanitation Law (for products in direct contact with food):

http://www.mhlw.go.jp

US market

U.S. Customs web site:

www.customs.ustreas.gov

U.S. customs regulations and USDA entry requirements:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/

Exporting to the US:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/communications_to_industry/diduknow.xml

Vietnam tarrifs/duties/ etc. when exporting to States:

http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/user_set.asp

EU market

Information about regulations and export tariffs to EU can be found at

81

http://export-help.cec.eu.int/ or http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs

International quality standards ISO and the European Committee for Normalisation

www.iso.ch

www.cenorm.be

Information about environment, social, health and safety issues:

www.cbi.nl/accessguide www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex

www.ilo.org (labour/health)

www.octrooibureau.nl (patents)

www.newapproach.org (product safety)

www.foodnet.fic.ca (food safety)

Source: VIETRADE (2006)

82

6. References

Higginson Alan (2006), Mission report on Fruit and Vegetables sector, submitted to

Project VIE/61/94, March.

Bui Thi Minh Hue (2005). Marketing solutions to promote Vegetexco’s export of

fruit to Japanese market. MBA thesis- National Economics University.

EU Market survey (2005). Fresh fruit and vegetables. Centre for the Promotion of

Imports from Developing Countries (CBI)

http://www.exporthelp.co.za/assistance/export_guide.html

http://www.intracen.org/mns

Vietrade (2006), Export Marketing Strategy for Fruit and Vegetables Sector.