Handicraft firms to expand export opportunities in Russia

Many trade promotion activities have been organised, including a made in Vietnam product fair slated to take place in Russia this November.

This time, Vietnamese firms are only promoting mid-end products. This is because of the high tariff rate levied on exports into Russia, high-end Vietnamese products won't be competitive.

"To prepare for the coming trade fair, we have created our catalogue and contacted prospective Russian clients that we met in previous fairs. We think this is necessary to attract more Russian businesses to our booths" said Mr. Vuong Dinh Sac, Director of Thien Thuong Co.

Exports to Russia currently face an 18% tariff compared to the EU’s 5%. Many Vietnamese enterprises are quite confident with their rollout in Russia this time. Environmentally-friendly and made of natural products, Vietnamese handicrafts proving more consumers in many markets including Russia.

According to Vietnamese companies, they are reaching their potential customers via phone, email and online marketing, However, this has not been particularly effective. These businesses hope to raise their revenues from exports to Russia by 5-10% by introducing their products through the coming trade fair.