Jaruwan Suwannasat, director of TCEB Exhibitions and Events and Supat Sriwannavit, president of the Associations of Thai Lifestyle Products Federation, tell Viet Nam News that Vietnamese firms stand to gain a lot from participating in Thai trade fairs.

Could you explain why TCEB chose Viet Nam as a destination to expand promotion? What are the benefits for Vietnamese enterprises when they participate in international trade fairs in Thailand?

We are a Thai governmental organisation that facilitates exhibitions in Thailand. We promote exhibitions in Thailand in order to attract visitors and exhibitors to join trade fairs in the kingdom. The reason we are here in Ha Noi today is because we see that Viet Nam has high potential. Many Vietnamese business people have come to various kinds of exhibitions in Thailand, especially in food and agriculture, automobiles and spare parts.

Our studies show that Viet Nam ranks sixth in the world terms of foreign visitors coming to trade fairs in Thailand. Therefore, we want to give you more information about our exhibition and events industry.

As for benefits, for example, Viet Nam is a major coffee exporter. So why not exhibit your coffee at international trade fairs in Thailand in order to capture buyers from other ASEAN countries and the world.

So, this time we want to inform major industries and major exhibitions in Thailand that Vietnamese companies can join as exhibitors or as visitors.

Do you have figures on Vietnamese firms visiting trade fairs in Thailand? How should Vietnamese companies prepare to get the best results out of participating in trade fairs in Thailand?

Last year, we had more than 180,000 trade visitors to exhibitions in Thailand. Vietnamese traders account for 6.63 per cent of the total.

We would recommend that Vietnamese visitors use our marketing campaigns, like Connect Business, in order to participate more effectively in exhibitions. The campaign will have supporting policies for businesses joining our events. Our teams will also provide advice for trade visitors and help them arrange appointments with exhibitors so that they can get the best results from the fairs.

Since both Viet Nam and Thailand are looking to exploit their advantages in the agriculture and food sectors, especially in rice exports, why would you want Vietnamese companies participate in these exhibitions?

It is a market where all sellers have opportunities to exhibit their products. For instance, producers from Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia can exhibit their rice products. And we invite buyers to come, so they can see and compare and choose what is best for them.

We don’t see Viet Nam as a competitor, but as a partner. We don’t see it as competition, but as partnership. This way, we can develop and grow together.

Lifestyle products

Please tell us something about lifestyle products in Thailand. What are your plans to promote the industry?

Lifesyle products are very popular in Thailand. In the past, we focused on producing good, high-quality products, but in the future, we will focus on creative products. We see that creative products with unique features will help us increase our value and compete with products from other countries.

In the next five years, we will expand our markets, first in ASEAN, as it becomes a common community, then expanding to other bigger markets in Asia and Europe.

What advice do you have to offer to the Vietnamese market for developing the lifestyle product business and improving its exhibition and events industry?

If they want to get into the Thai market, I recommend that Vietnamese businesses study the culture and habits of Thai consumers.

They also should join international fairs in Thailand and have their own exhibitions in Viet Nam, and invite businesses to attend Vietnamese fairs by reaching large numbers of exhibitors from fairs in Thailand. They can also organise business matches.

How do you assess the capacity of Vietnamese lifestyle product businesses to compete with other markets in ASEAN?

Viet Nam is growing up very fast. Your competitive capacity has also increased in recent years. To further enhance your capacity to compete in the region, the Vietnamese government should step up education about production trends and learn from the experiences of other countries like Thailand. — VNS