A screenshot of the banner of the HCM City Export Forum and Trade Fair 2023 to be held from May 25 to 28 in HCM City’s District 7. VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

HCM CITY — As many as 200 exhibitors from Việt Nam and around the world will participate in a HCM City expo next week as part of the city’s trade and export promotion scheme for 2023-2025. 

Slated for May 25 to 28, HCM City Export Forum and Trade Fair 2023 (or HCM City Expo 2023) is co-hosted by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade and Việt Nam Trade Promotion Agency.

Products to be on display include farm produce, textiles and garments, footwear, furniture and handicrafts, food and beverages, rubber, plastics, electronics, mechanics and fishery, and others.

Several seminars will be held during the event to discuss how to promote regional connectivity in manufacturing, agriculture, trade and services, and green economy.

The “Strengthening linkages towards green exports” forum will discuss the potential and strengths of the city’s economy and the current challenges facing exporters.

The “Vietnamese agriculture reaches out to the world” conference will discuss global market trends and international supply chains in agriculture and food processing.

Visitors can also take part in B2B matchmaking sessions aimed at connecting businesses with potential trade partners and investors.

To be held at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7, the expo features 250 booths and is expected to attract over 8,000 visitors.

Visitors include importers, traders, supermarket and wholesale chains, retailers in major markets such as the US, the EU, China, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Japan and South Korea.

Other visitors will be trade delegations, including from the EU, South Korea, India, Cambodia, and others.

Challenges

Speaking at a recent press conference, Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said local firms continued to face significant declines in sales and profits in the first five months of this year.

He attributed the declines to weak global demand and higher-than-expected inflation, forcing consumers to tighten spending, especially in major export markets such as the US and the EU.

Meanwhile, the slowdown in China, also Việt Nam’s key export market, has been much worse than anticipated, he said.

The department will continue to promote trade and export activities to back up firms, he said. 

Meanwhile, firms themselves must restructure to reduce costs, increase competitiveness and seek new markets to maintain production and keep workers while waiting for the market to warm up.

Besides traditional markets such as the US and the EU, enterprises need to seek alternative markets, including the domestic market, he said.

They must also review product position, market, management, technology, and production models to meet customer requirements, he added. — VNS