Workers prepare fibre for export at Ha Nam Textile Company. Developing trademarks can boost business efficiency in many industries, including leather and footwear, garments and textile. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Vietnamese businesses should pay more attention to building trademarks in order to increase the value of their products as well as profit margins, experts say.

A Thoi bao kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times) report late last week quoted Ha Duy Hung, chairman of HCM City Leather and Footwear Association, as saying trademarks can add as much as 45 per cent to retail prices of the sector's products.

Hung, who is also the general director of Dong Hung Ltd Co, said other factors that impact product value included research and development, logistics and sales services.

The report cited other experts as saying that in the textile and garments sector, although export turnover is high, profits are still small. They explained that domestic enterprises mostly did outsourcing, so they could only earn profits of 5-10 per cent.

Many Vietnamese businesses faced difficulties in competing with other rivals because they had not built their own trademarks, the experts said.

The Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency, together with relevant agencies, is discussing a project to add value to Viet Nam's tra fish and coffee products that are exported in huge quantities.

The project will help improve businesses' capacity to meet standards and international technical requirements. It will also help them develop trademarks that will be recognised in domestic and international markets.

The project will be supported by Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Viet Nam's National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Viet Nam Coffee-Cocoa Association, and the Viet Nam Seafood Exporters and Producers Association.

Experts said Viet Nam should carry out national programmes on a similar scale for other sectors as well, so that Vietnamese trademarks gain widespread recognition for high quality. — VNS