Binh Thuan Province's Commerce: Edging up Competition

Binh Thuan has a lot of exportable products like farming products (dragon fruits, cashew nuts), aquatic products (shrimp, fish, cuttle-fish, fish sauce), apparel and woodwork. However, Binh Thuan province-based exporting companies have small and medium business sizes, medium technological level and the moderate quality and competitiveness of local products. Therefore, after Vietnam joined the WTO, Binh Thuan’s companies face more difficulties and challenges.

 

The commercial sector of Binh Thuan Province has carried out an action programme to sharpen competitiveness at three levels: the entire economy, enterprise and product.

 

At the economic level, the province enhances the competitive capacity of its industry and service, looks to national and export markets, creates a favourable environment to attract all available resources for development, intensifies administrative reform based on the one-door mechanism, and transparently publicise policies, processes and procedures related to construction, land, housing, site clearance, regulations on anti-corruption, waste prevention and thrift exercise. The administrative system is improved on the basis of serving enterprises and citizens.

 

At enterprise level, the province will assist local enterprises to: introduce sound business strategies in line with roadmaps implementing market opening, product and tax cut commitments; renovate managerial and business methods; renew equipment; apply advanced technologies to meet international standards; and build, register and develop business trademarks. It will give priorities to companies to expand local retail networks, call on all economic sectors to build commercial centres, retail supermarkets and shopping malls. It will also reinforce and develop the operations of local business associations, which will help local companies seek markets and protect them in case of trade disputes.

 

At the product level, the province will focus on developing mainstay advantageous products like dragon fruit, specialty seafood, fish sauce and Vinh Hao mineral water. The production phase will be closely attached to processing, consumption and export. Binh Thuan will boost trade promotion activities and attend trade fairs to introduce its products. At the same time, the building of geographic indicators and brand names for local products is prioritised.

 

Local enterprises need to introduce integration strategies and take initiative in carrying out them. With their financial capacity, and production and business levels, big companies should intensively focus on producing local products and improve quality to add more value to the products. As for small and medium enterprises, the best way is to team up with other local companies or join hands with foreign partners to make the full use of their advantages to expand production scale.