HA NOI (VNS) — Service provider TUV SUD PSB Viet Nam has pledged to assist members of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA) in assessing factories and managing product quality after the two parties signed an agreement yesterday.

General director Sathish Kumar Somuraj of the company, a subsidiary of Germany's technical service provider TUV SUD, said the local partners would be provided with technical training courses which help the domestic timber industry expand and penetrate further into the world market.

HAWA chairman Nguyen Chien Thang said that the association's members were mostly small- and medium-sized enterprises with limited capital and a low capacity for market expansion.

In the face of economic difficulties and declining export market shares, Europe and the US – two vital markets for Vietnamese firms – have set stricter technical and commercial standards for wooden products.

The new agreement would help local companies adapt to these conditions and improve their export results, Thang said.

HAWA has over 300 members specialising in wood processing, interior products, fine arts and timber trading. — VNS