Opportunities brought by FTAs
A representative of Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) said that production and business in rural industries have contributed significantly to value of goods and products, increasing export turnover.
In the first 8 months of 2025, export turnover of many rural industry product groups maintained a good growth momentum compared to the same period in 2024. Notably, export turnover of wood and wood products reached more than 11.1 billion USD, an increase of 6.3% over the same period in 2024; export turnover of rattan, bamboo, sedge, carpets reached 574 million USD, an increase of 5.4%...
Export market for handicrafts is increasingly expanding, in which main export markets are still the US (accounting for 35% of annual export turnover), Japan and Europe. In addition to traditional markets, new markets such as Russia, Korea, Australia, Taiwan (China) are also increasing import of Vietnamese handicrafts. Currently, Vietnamese handicrafts are present in 163 countries and territories around the world.
Products are gradually shifting towards increasing trend of environmentally friendly products with cultural and indigenous elements. ODM/OEM orders have increased sharply but requirements for design, quality, delivery ability and social responsibility are high.
Products that meet export standards often come from traditional craft villages such as Bat Trang (ceramics), Van Phuc (silk), Phu Vinh (rattan and bamboo weaving), Dong Ky (wooden handicrafts) ...
To achieve this result, there is an important contribution from international trade promotion work organized by Ministry of Industry and Trade.
According to Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development, in a period of 2021-2025, Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved and implemented 9 trade promotion projects for Vietnamese handicrafts with a total support budget of nearly 16 billion VND. Including organizing business delegations to attend specialized international fairs such as Ambiente Frankfurt (Germany), Maison et Objet (France), New York Now (USA); organizing weeks to promote Vietnamese products in the Japanese and Korean markets...
From efforts of ministries and branches, up to now, 145 craft villages have exported products. Some products have built their own brands and have stable market shares abroad such as Bat Trang pottery, Van Phuc silk, Nga Son sedge mats, Quang Phu Cau incense, Tang Tien rattan and bamboo...
According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tien, Director of Agricultural Trade Promotion Center (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), with Vietnam participating in many Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including 3 new generation FTAs: CPTPP, EVFTA, UKVFTA, it has contributed significantly to expanding export market for Vietnamese craft villages to the world.
Promoting trade promotion through digital platforms
In context of rapid digital technology development, according to representatives of experts and craft village associations, in addition to more actively participating in direct trade promotion activities, agricultural establishments need to promote trade through digital platforms.
Mr. Le Ba Ngoc, Vice President of Vietnam Handicraft Export Association, said that to increase exports, handicraft products will have to simultaneously implement 4 issues: Having sustainable raw material areas; having green production; having innovation in products and especially promoting cross-border e-commerce. "E-commerce of craft villages and rural industries only stops at posting news on social networking sites or having a website without really investing in activities to promote cross-border e-commerce", said Mr. Ngoc.
A representative of Agricultural Trade Promotion Center said that in the coming time, the Center will focus on supporting businesses and handicraft production facilities to participate more strongly in international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, Etsy...
In addition, it will build a "national booth" for handicraft products on digital platforms. "This will be a strategy to help build a common brand, increase trust with customers and open up opportunities to directly reach millions of global consumers," said Mr. Tien. Accordingly, on these booths, there will be digital exhibitions and virtual fairs applying 3D, AR, VR technology to recreate the space of craft villages, introduce products in a realistic and vivid way, helping international customers to experience products remotely.
Promote digital transformation in businesses by training digital trade human resources associated with building a customer data system, applying Big Data to analyze consumer behavior and market trends. “Digitizing trade promotion process will help businesses make decisions more quickly, accurately and effectively”, said the leader of Agricultural Trade Promotion Center.
Along with digital trade promotion, the unit will continue to support units and enterprises of rural craft products and craft villages to participate in traditional trade promotion such as international fairs, exhibitions, and Vietnamese goods weeks abroad. "This is still an effective tool to directly contact customers, importers and distributors. Direct trade connection activities (B2B) need to be organized more systematically, especially in key markets such as Europe, the US and Japan," said Nguyen Minh Tien, Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn