Adobe brick products at Thanh Phuc Building Materials and Mechanical Company in northern Hai Phong City. The domestic building materials industry has achieved high export volume but remains saddled with low valuation of its products. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The domestic building materials industry should promote efficiency in the export of its products in the future because the domestic market has yet to fully recover from crisis, experts said.

The Industry and Trade newspaper quoted the Ministry of Construction (MoC) as saying the export of building materials was needed to reduce the pressure of high inventory, maintain production stability and improve competitiveness in the world market.

Leading exporters of building materials in Viet Nam are pottery and ceramic producers, including Viglacera, Vinaconex and Hoang Gia, as well as Hong Ha, Taicera and Toto. They have been scouting for export markets by joining international trade fairs and exhibitions and have so far exported products to 40 countries and territories.

Luyen Cong Minh, chairman of the Viet Nam Building Glass and Ceramic Corporation (Viglacera), said his company expected to gain total export revenues of US$31.5 million from building materials, though the industry was still facing numerous difficulties in production and business.

The domestic building materials industry has achieved high export volume but remained saddled with the low value of its products, said the ministry.

Le Van Toi, head of the MoC's Building Material Development Office, said Viet Nam has advantages in developing the potential of building materials exports, but the industry was facing numerous challenges, including the lack of mechanisms and policies for encouraging exports.

Also, building materials producers haven't been actively seeking export markets and haven't been investing enough in trade promotion activities, Toi added.

To solve these difficulties, the enterprises should pay attention to opportunities for exporting their products, said Nguyen Quang Cung, chairman of the Viet Nam Cement Association.

The exports could not bring in huge profits but exporting will help domestic enterprises overcome existing difficulties in production and business and also compel them to upgrade production quality according to global standards, Cung added.

Tran Quang Huy, head of the African, West Asian and South Asian Markets Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the Middle East was one of the potential markets for building materials exports due to the high demand for such products there.

Vietnamese enterprises should be more active in studying and researching the Middle East market and should ensure that their products meet quality and environment standards in that market, Huy added.

To improve the quality of exports, Toi said, domestic enterprises in the building materials industry should restructure themselves to set up complexes with strong financial ability that manufacture and trade building materials that conform to international product standards. —VNS