Visitors at the HawaExpo 2023 being held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre until February 25. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The Ho Chi Minh Export Furniture Fair that opened in HCM City on February 22 seeks to promote Việt Nam's wood processing industry and help businesses get new customers.

HawaExpo has attracted more than 200 furniture manufacturers and exporters, including many big names in the indoor, outdoor and office furniture, gifts, handicrafts, wooden housing, raw materials, and design.

Nguyễn Quốc Khanh, chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA) and head of the fair organisation board, said the large fair was being organised in a systematic manner to benefit both exhibitors and buyers.

It is also the first fair to develop its own mobile application to serve visitors, and on the HawaExpo App customers can view the exhibition map online, connect, look up partner information, book an appointment, or contact the organisers for support.

Users can also see the exhibition online at www.hopefairs.com.

The fair include activities such as a networking cocktail, business matching, specialised workshops, and others.

Nguyễn Liêm, chairman of the Bình Dương Furniture Association (BIFA) and founder of Lâm Việt Furniture, said HawaExpo took place at a unique time when the wood industry lacked export orders, and so participating in the fair gave businesses a great opportunity to access new customers.

HawaExpo hopes to help wood processing industry regain growth momentum. — VNS Photo

Nguyễn Phương, merchandise director of Minh Thành Co., Ltd, said besides developing new products Vietnamese enterprises were also increasingly investing in developing sales teams and attending local and foreign fairs to gain access to new markets.

Through Vietnam Trade Offices abroad, the expo attracted international businesses and delegations, and organised meetings to connect local businesses with buyers in markets such as Canada, the UK and the Middle East, he said. Therefore, the fair would be an ideal platform for woodworking firms to approach new customers.

Vũ Bá Phú, director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said the fair would contribute to achieving the Government’s goals of making wood processing an important industry by 2030; creating a Vietnamese wood product brand in the domestic and international markets; and make Việt Nam a leading country in the production, processing and export of wood and wood products.

Organised by Viforest Fair Co., Ltd, a joint venture between five wood processing industry associations (VIFOREST, HAWA, BIFA, DOWA, and FPA), the fair at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre will go on until February 25 and is expected to attract 10,000 visitors.

After the end of the fair the organisers will organise factory tours from February 25 to 28 to help international buyers look at large manufacturing plants in HCM City and its neighbouring provinces.

According to the General Department of Forestry, wood and furniture exports were worth US$16.9 billion last year, up 6.1 per cent from 2021, representing the slowest growth in the last 10 years.— VNS