Craftswomen check handicraft items in Vinh Phuoc Handicraft Export Company in Ninh Hoa Commune of Khanh Hoa Province. Local companies that have continued to travel to major trade shows, despite the global recession, are reaping the rewards of the efforts.

“There’s a misconception among local businesses that no buyers will go to trade shows during the recession, so they see no need to go either,” said Andrew Vuong, country manager of Global Sources, which organised the Hong Kong event.

Opportunities still exist, however, partly because there are fewer suppliers now at the trade show and more serious buyers. In April, for example, about four or five local handicraft manufacturers returned home from a Hong Kong trade show with handsome contracts and memoranda of understanding.

Attending the show were more than 20 Vietnamese suppliers, specialising in ceramics, lacquerware, embroideries, home furniture, bamboo and rattan products. They exhibited alongside suppliers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines.

They were competing to attract the attention of volume buyers from more than 100 countries across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the US, the Middle East and emerging markets such as Brazil and Russia, which came to the event to explore sources of goods.

“Buyers still need to replenish their inventories and source products that sell in today’s market,” Andrew said. “It increases the chances for participant suppliers to get deals,” he said, adding that opportunities were more plentiful with the absence of many manufacturers who decided to stay home. Andrew said the Vietnamese-made home products at the show are necessities that consumers can buy in either good or hard times. He praised Viet Nam’s availability of cheap labour, raw materials and flexible prices, as well as the dexterity of workers, that have rendered the products more competitive.

“Hong Kong is a gateway to Asia that attracts buyers from around the world,” Andrew said, explaining why Hong Kong is a good venue for suppliers to access the world market. He pointed to similar annual events in Frankfurt and Germany to stress Hong Kong’s advantages of proximity and expenses.

“Many local handicraft manufacturers who are relying on the European market tend to go to Frankfurt only,” he added. “That’s a mistake in times of crisis because when European countries are in the epicentre, orders shrink enormously.”

Andrew suggested that local manufacturers diversify customers and not miss any opportunities to meet as many new buyers as possible, especially in hard times.

In fact, the companies in Hong Kong received dozens of visitors to their booths, earned a handful of on-site contracts worth thousands of dollars, many memoranda and even more contracts after they went home.

There were not as many buyers at the event as expected, but potential contracts were expected in the future. “I think it’s passable in the context of the economic crisis,” said Dinh Duc Dung, vice-director of the rattan handicrafts manufacturer Artex Sai Gon of his company’s performance at the Hong Kong trade show.

After a similar event last October, Dung said Artex Sai Gon went home with several memoranda that later developed into contracts. “It takes time,” Dung said, adding that for the second time he attended the fair he was pleased to reap and embark on relationships with new customers.

“Hong Kong is a hub of buyers from all over America,” Dung said, noting that his company wants to expand to new markets like the US, the Middle East and Japan apart from its mainstay market of Europe.

“Vietnamese handicraft products are cheaper than those made in the Philippines or Indonesia and of higher quality than those made in China,” he said. Hit by the meltdown which caused orders to dry up by 60 per cent, Tran Van Thuan, director of An Anh Handicraft, said he felt the need to reach out as much as possible to new buyers.

With some client contracts that he signed at the fair, Thuan hopes his turnover will amount to at least four-fifths of that of 2007 by the end of this year, or a significant improvement on last year.

“I think when it comes to handicrafts, world buyers are more prone to Asia, rather than Europe or the US, given its reputation for the craft,” he said, explaining why he chose Hong Kong to promote his products. “The world’s big enterprises are mostly based or represented there,” he added.

A similar event is already scheduled for Hong Kong next October, while certain world buyers will come to HCM City in July to explore sources of outdoor products, fashion accessories, and in September, for garments, textiles and household products.