For more than 1,000 years, residents of the Bat Trang village in northwestern Vietnam have made a living by producing a unique form of ceramics. Today, as Vietnam integrates into the global economy, new opportunities have arisen for expanding ceramics and other home accessory sales. But a lack of external market knowledge, limited product development, and other business constraints mean that sales have yet to take off. Since spring 2004, however, the USAID-funded Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) has worked with local producers to help them seize new trade opportunities.

Implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), VNCI supports economic growth in Vietnam by recommending policy reforms, expanding credit opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, and supporting the development of targeted sectors—such as the Bat Trang home accessories.

Because of their distinctive qualities and refined production techniques that have evolved generation after generation, VNCI identified these handicrafts as likely to be competitive in the global marketplace, given appropriate temporary support. DAI staff worked to increase the supply of—and demand for—locally produced goods by bringing together a number of producers to form a “cluster” of companies that can work collectively to advance their industry. Although they are traditional competitors, their combined resources and experience allow them to develop an international market for their products where none existed before.

DAI then brought in Ernie Owens, a U.S. ceramics design expert with 40 years of industry experience and extensive contacts among international buyers. Following three visits to the region, Mr. Owens worked with 15 small and medium-sized enterprises from Bat Trang and the nearby Ha Tay province in May 2004 to develop their products—strengthening existing designs and developing new ones.

Following this product development phase and two business workshops attended by 45 local producers (“Building Competitiveness” and “Ten Steps to Export to the U.S.”), Mr. Owens introduced international firms to the local Vietnamese producers. The handicraft producers were able to submit their goods to the largest home furnishing trade show in the United States, in High Point, North Carolina. In total, they exhibited 1,000 samples valued at $7,600, and orders are now coming in from around the world: as of early November, within a few weeks of the show, orders had surpassed $150,000. Randy Nakayama of leading home furnishings company Toyo Trading said, “As a result of our trial experience in Vietnam, I could see purchasing up to $10 million of home accessories products over the next several years!”

Connections made between Vietnamese producers and international buyers have brought immediate economic benefits, and the relationships established will allow these Vietnamese businesses to adapt to evolving market preferences—producing more efficiently and increasing their markets and income over time. As this occurs in Bat Trang, Ha Tay, and throughout Vietnam, VNCI continues its work to support economic growth and international partnerships in Vietnam.