Businesses should look more into using market research tools to identify foreign trade opportunities amid rising challenges, experts have said.

Speaking at a conference last week on helping businesses expand export markets, Huynh Minh Vu, deputy director of the HCM City Centre of International Integration Support (CIIS), said Viet Nam’s integration and free trade agreements were providing enormous export opportunities.

But many countries were increasingly using non-tax barriers to protect their domestic markets.

Global inflation was also changing the behaviour of consumers in Viet Nam’s key markets such as the US and the EU, making them prudent with their spending and buying fewer non-essential products, he said.

This was hindering Viet Nam’s key exports such as textile and garment, footwear and wood furniture, he said.

“It is important to help businesses research a market with analysing tools to better understand trends, import and export rules, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade.

“This will increase their competitiveness and help them take advantage of free trade agreements.”

Le Viet Dung Linh, a market research expert at the International Trade Centre (ITC) Viet Nam, said that Vietnamese businesses could use ITC’s market research tool for free.

Businesses could use the tool to analyse import and export opportunities, market sizes for various products and overseas market trends, he said.

They could also keep up to date with sanitary standards and technical barriers in various markets, and can even be notified of the latest developments, he added.

Experts at the conference said there were many other good market tools that could provide useful information but businesses needed to be able to use the data effectively.

The conference was held by CIIS and the city’s Investment and Trade Promotion Centre. — VNS