The craft is quite rudimentary and self-made by the craftsmen. Nowadays, the market economy and the scientific and technological revolution have strongly impacted the innovation of technology in craft villages. Some establishments have been equipped with modern equipment in some necessary stages. For example, the woodworking industry has been equipped with multi-purpose machines (saws, chisels, planes) to shorten production time. The textile industry, thanks to the application of machinery and equipment in production, has used weaving technology with many complex, diverse, wide patterns to replace the traditional weaving technology with narrow width and simple patterns. In Bat Trang, the technology of baking ceramic products with tunnel kilns (using gas and electricity) has replaced box kilns and gourd kilns (using coal and firewood), and the technology of kneading soil by machine has replaced manual technology.
However, in general, technological innovation in craft villages has not been carried out systematically and fundamentally. The capacity to research and apply scientific and technical advances is still poor. In craft villages, there are few technical workers who specialize in research and design creation because there is no basic training school, but mainly self-study. All of these things limit the development of handicraft production.
2.1.1. Environment.
Production in craft villages brings economic efficiency, but its downside is that it causes serious environmental pollution. Through investigation, currently up to 52% of households and production facilities affect the environment. Craft villages producing lime bricks, ceramics, bronze casting are facing difficulties because of serious air pollution that affects public health and pollutes the ecological environment. Pottery kilns release many toxic substances into the atmosphere every day, for example in Bat Trang, the population density is 2500-3000 people/km². In the village, houses are close together with 1100 large and small kilns, using about 70,000 tons of coal every year and processing 100,000 tons of raw soil, in addition to 300 large and small cars passing by every day. Besides the pottery kilns, there are hundreds of brick kilns on the riverbanks of Da Ton and Xuan Quan. These kilns emit smoke and dust day and night and cause great harm to people's health, especially children, women and the elderly.
The reason is due to limitations in capital, technology, and lack of overall planning, so most families when investing in production do not invest in waste treatment, toxic substances from production are discharged directly into the environment. In addition, departments and production facilities are arranged interspersed with residential areas, even used as production sites, causing direct harm to human health.
2.1.1.5 Raw materials for production.
Most traditional craft villages are formed from the availability of raw materials in the locality. Especially traditional crafts that produce consumer products such as weaving, rattan, bamboo, etc., raw materials are often available locally. For some crafts such as lacquer, wood carving, stone carving, etc., raw materials can also be exploited from local or domestic sources. However, raw materials are increasingly depleted, affecting the sustainable development of craft villages.
As the pottery industry develops, land resources are gradually depleted, water resources are also narrowed, not to mention the waste seeping into and polluting water sources. As the wood and bamboo weaving industry develops, forest resource degradation increases rapidly. Natural forest output has not met consumption demand, while people's awareness of forest protection and ecological environment is very poor, and the State has no policies to preserve and regenerate this resource.
Thus, after examining the current status of handicrafts in Vietnam, we see that traditional Vietnamese crafts are gradually developing along with the country's economic renovation. The recovery and development of craft villages have contributed significantly to local GDP, created more jobs, increased income for workers, improved material and spiritual life for people... However, there are still many difficulties in terms of capital, technology and technical level, environmental pollution, capacity, production management experience and the attention of state agencies to the development of craft villages is not appropriate. These difficulties directly affect the export of handicrafts, so to promote exports, Vietnam must have practical measures and policies implemented synchronously to thoroughly solve the above difficulties.
2.1.2 Current status of Vietnam's handicraft export.
* Export abroad
2.1.2.1 Export turnover
After the country's reunification, our country exploited the strengths of these traditional industries to boost exports. During the period 1976-1990, our handicraft exports mainly included: woolen carpets, rattan and bamboo products, bamboo blinds, palm blinds, lace embroidery, bed sheets, embroidered tablecloths, embroidered shirts... the vast majority of these goods were exported to the markets of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
In the late 1980s, we began exporting crude oil and rice in similar volumes.
The export of large-scale and light industrial goods also grew rapidly (garment, processed food, leather shoes, etc.), so the proportion of handicraft exports decreased significantly in the total export turnover of the whole country. On average, in the period 1986-1990, the proportion of both light industrial goods and handicrafts was only 27.9% of the total export turnover.
Since 1991, when the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe markets, the main markets for our handicraft exports in the previous period, were lost, the handicraft industries encountered many difficulties in exporting, leading to a reduction in production, unemployment, and market conversion requiring time to find new markets and new customers. After several years of struggling in the new mechanism, some industries gradually found a way to restore the situation. Although ranked 8th in export turnover in 2000 with 235 million, accounting for 1.6% of the total turnover, but looking at it from another perspective, the actual value of exporting our country's handicrafts is not small. Because unlike other products, the raw materials used to produce handicrafts are all available domestically, not imported from abroad, so the actual export value is very high and through that, we can also promote the image of Vietnam and its people to the world.
Table 1
Vietnam's export turnover of handicraft products in recent times
Target
Unit | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
Total export turnover | Million USD | 11540 | 14450 | 15018 | 16700 | 18500 |
Annual increase | % | 123.9 | 15.2 | 103.9 | 111.2 | 110.7 |
KNXKTCMN | Million USD | 168 | 235 | 235.4 | 332 | 450 |
Annual increase | % | 151.4 | 139.8 | 100.2 | 141 | 135.5 |
Proportion XKTCMN | % | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.68 | 1.99 | 2.4 |
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Source: Department of Commerce annual report
Up to now, handicrafts continue to be one of the 10 main export items of Vietnam and since 1997 have been classified as one of our key export items.
In 1997, according to Customs statistics, the export turnover of handicrafts reached 121 million USD, of which over 50% were ceramics (about 610 million USD) and about 25% were ceramics (about 30 million USD), including products such as paintings, wooden statues, lacquerware, inlaid wooden furniture... In 1998, due to the regional economic crisis, export turnover decreased by 8.3% compared to 1997 but still reached 111 million USD. In 1999, in the first 9 months of the year, exports reached 111 million USD, and for the whole year, they reached 168 million USD, an increase of 51.3% compared to 1998. The year 2000 marked a renaissance period for the handicraft industry after many years of decline. Export turnover reached 235 million USD, an increase of 39.8% compared to the same period in 1999. But by 2002, handicraft export turnover reached 322 million USD, an increase of 41% compared to 2001. In 2003, it reached 350 million USD, an increase of 20 % compared to 2002. And in 2004, the handicraft industry achieved an export turnover of 450 million USD , an increase of 22.6% compared to 2003. Items with large export value include rattan, bamboo, sedge, ceramic and wooden products.
In recent years, to promote the export of handicrafts, the State has had many supporting activities. In 2002, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with relevant agencies and enterprises, built an electronic trading floor to display and introduce Vietnamese handicrafts online. This trading floor is the focal point for providing information about the market, introducing Vietnamese handicraft products, about enterprises, production and trading establishments of this item, and at the same time supporting enterprises in online transactions.
2.1.2.1.2 Export commodity structure.
According to the assessment of the structure of export goods, it is the correlation ratio between the goods in the total export turnover of handicrafts. Handicrafts are diverse in types and rich in designs, so it is not easy to study all types of handicrafts in depth. Vietnam exports a group of handicrafts, including 5 main types. Each export item, whether small or large, contributes to the total export turnover.
Table 2
Structure of Vietnam's main handicraft export items from 2000-2004
Target
unit | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
Fine art wood | Million USD | 50 | 52 | 62 | 76 | 30 |
Embroidery | - | 14 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 11 |
- | 32.6 | 50.5 | 61 | 74 | 35.3 | |
Carpets of all kinds | - | 5 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 4.5 |
Fine art ceramics | - | 100 | 120 | 145 | 177 | 51.1 |
Bamboo and rattan
Source: annual summary reports of the Ministry of Commerce
The export turnover of handicrafts has increased over the years, in which the products with the largest proportion are wood and ceramics, followed by rattan and bamboo and other products. Wood and ceramic products are very popular with Japanese customers because their designs are very suitable for Japanese style with reasonable prices. Particularly, ceramic and handicraft products ensure high growth. Currently, ceramic and handicraft products are the main source of export goods among the types of handicrafts exported from Vietnam, followed by wooden handicrafts, rattan and bamboo. These are products whose demand always tends to increase. In 2000, this group of products reached about 12 million USD and in 2002 reached about 16 million USD , the target in 2005 is to reach 20-30 million USD .
2.1.2.1.3 Export market structure.
As stated above, the demand for handicrafts in the domestic and international markets is increasing with the improvement of people's living standards and the development of trade, cultural exchange between countries and the expansion of domestic and international tourism activities. However, discovering and grasping the needs and tastes of each market at each time for each type of product and quickly meeting those needs and tastes is a difficult and complicated task, requiring sensitivity and a lot of effort and costs. The reality in recent years shows that the handicraft market has expanded and handicrafts have also partly affirmed their position in the markets of other countries. In addition to promoting the export of handicrafts to traditional markets and potential markets, we need to have more effective measures to expand the export market. Currently, handicrafts are present on all continents. Although many countries have small export turnover, it is hoped that with the efforts of macro levels, import-export companies and craft villages, they will become large markets in the future.
The handicraft export market in recent years has had ups and downs, sometimes favorable, sometimes difficult, but in general in recent years there have been good development trends, with many new types of goods and the expansion of many new markets.
multilateralization and diversification of market relations and trade relations with countries around the world.
Our handicrafts have been present in 120 countries around the world, mainly in European and American markets and some Asian markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Korea and some Middle Eastern countries, but we have not been able to export much to markets with large demand and capacity. The US is a market with a large demand for handicrafts. Gift handicrafts are one of the Vietnamese products that have advantages in the US market , but have not received much attention and investment from Vietnamese businesses . American consumers prefer high quality products, beautiful designs, cheap prices , regardless of origin, and these products are less affected by trade barriers . Most recently, at the handicraft exhibition held in New York from May 15-18, handicraft products of more than 20 Vietnamese companies attracted the attention of American customers. A number of memorandums of understanding and contracts were signed, opening up many opportunities for cooperation in exporting these products to the US market for Vietnamese cooperatives and handicraft companies.
The EU is considered an ideal market for exporting wooden, ceramic, porcelain, rattan and bamboo products, and embroidery. The main handicraft products exported to the EU are wooden handicraft products, ceramics and rattan and bamboo products. The export turnover of this group of products has increased quite rapidly (21.18%) but only accounts for 2.8% of Vietnam's total export turnover to this market, although our production capacity is quite large. Although the opportunity to expand the market in the EU is very large, Vietnamese handicrafts have not really penetrated much into the EU. The export markets of Vietnamese handicrafts in the EU are Germany (26.4%), France (14.7%), the Netherlands (11.6%), the UK (11%), Belgium (10.7%), Italy (7.4%). Spain (6.3%), Sweden (5.0%)... It is worth noting that in recent times, many EU merchants who have long been doing business with Chinese and other ASIAN country owners have now become more interested in the Vietnamese market. This is an opportunity for Vietnam's handicraft exports. Appropriate solutions are needed to take advantage of this market, thereby expanding the market for Vietnamese handicrafts.
Japan is a close market and has a great demand for our handicrafts. If we consider the market by country, Japan has been our largest export market since 1991 (in 1991, it accounted for 34.5% and in 2000, it accounted for nearly 15% of Vietnam's export turnover). Japan is also a large market for many types of Vietnamese handicrafts.
Japanese people have a large demand for wooden furniture. According to Japanese statistics, every year we export
to Japan about 60 million USD worth of household goods, mainly wooden furniture. Exporting wooden furniture to Japan has not encountered increasingly strict regulations like those of the EU and the US on forest protection.
According to 2002 data, Vietnam's largest handicraft export partner is Japan with 33.35 million USD , followed by Germany with 25.4 million USD , UK with 17.64 million USD , Taiwan with 15.4 million USD ...
According to the assessment of senior consultants of JETRO (Japan Trade Promotion Organization), in recent years, Japanese consumers have been very fond of Vietnamese handicrafts from household items, interior decoration to gifts. In Japan, the demand for handicrafts is increasing while the production of these products is decreasing, Japanese businessmen are looking for sources of goods to import and the items made by the skillful hands of Vietnamese people are noticed by them because of the richness of designs and models rich in artistic creativity. Production and business establishments that regularly export goods to Japan, typically large and small rattan and bamboo cooperatives in Ho Chi Minh City such as Ba Nhat, Hoa Hiep (District 4), Viet Tre, Phu Trung... are all doing well. Products such as fruit trays, curtains, tables and chairs, baskets for storing items, doormats, bamboo pillows, flower baskets, laundry baskets... made from sedge, rattan, bamboo, and coconut fiber are very popular in the Japanese market. According to the feedback from Japanese enterprises, Vietnamese handicrafts, in addition to being harmonious and close to the Japanese, are also affordable. However, the Japanese side also noted that Vietnamese manufacturers should not copy foreign products, but must create their own unique features because in the past, Japanese people only paid attention to diversity and low prices, but now they pay more attention to quality, creativity in color, style, and design, especially the national culture expressed on the products.
Besides, Taiwan market also imports a large amount of wooden furniture from Vietnam.
, annual turnover is about 50-60 million USD , accounting for 20% of Taiwan's import turnover of this item. This is a market with a lot of potential that we can exploit for export because Taiwan's import tax on this item is low, from 0-25%. In addition, some Vietnamese handicrafts are also exported to this market, a long-standing difficult-to-export item with a large shipment such as Non Nuoc fine art stone, in 1998 a company in Da Nang completed a contract to export 2 containers to Taiwan.
* Export on the spot.
In addition to the forms of expanding the market abroad, the tourism market plays a very important role in increasing the export turnover of Vietnamese handicrafts today. In the years of innovation, the tourism market has increasingly developed and it is a potential market of our country. The number of foreign and domestic tourists is increasing, meeting the needs of this market are traditional products that show the uniqueness of national culture and bear the historical mark of each period. The needs of tourists are often to buy souvenirs that are traditional cultural in nature or that show the characteristics of the region they visit. Observations show that foreign tourists visiting our country, in addition to going to tourist attractions, they always go to places that display and introduce traditional products. The main products introduced are handicrafts: ceramics, mother-of-pearl inlay, wood carving, stone, silver, copper, embroidery, weaving...
In 2004, Vietnam welcomed more than 2.9 million foreign tourists for sightseeing and shopping, an increase of more than 19% compared to 2003. In 2005, Vietnam aims to welcome 3.2 million visitors with many programs and policies to attract foreign tourists. After the recent tsunami and earthquake, many foreign tourists have shifted to Vietnam, causing the number of visitors to increase significantly, and Vietnamese handicrafts have really attracted tourists from all over the world.
Handicrafts in the form of gifts or souvenirs will be increasingly consumed by tourists. However, this also depends on the attractiveness of the products and the tastes of foreigners. Since ancient times, traditional Vietnamese crafts have been greatly influenced by China. Therefore, many foreign visitors have not yet realized the difference between Vietnamese handicrafts and Chinese handicrafts. This is also an obstacle to selling our handicrafts to foreign visitors. Our products sold to foreign visitors are generally cheap, but the cheap price is often not attractive to them: because in a short time, they have not had the opportunity to learn about the value of the products, but think that these are low-value products or mass-produced products, not genuine handicrafts made by talented artisans. Therefore, we need to pay attention to making sure that handicrafts are truly unique and suitable for international needs.
2.1.3 Situation of exporting Vietnamese handicrafts to the Japanese market
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