Plastics-

Viet Nam expects to earn US$500 million by exporting nearly 2 million tonnes of plastic products in 2006, up 43 percent over the same period last year.

To reach the target, the Ministry of Industry has asked local plastic businesses to further promote their products and export activities in foreign markets. Businesses are also required to step up the production of sought-after commodities such as packaging and high-quality plastic products. The ministry said Japan and the US will continue to be Viet Nam's largest plastic markets this year. Exports to Cambodia, Taiwan and the Philippines are expected to see high growth, while exports to other ASEAN member countries, China and the Republic of Korea are likely to decrease.

The country grossed US$92 million from plastic product exports in the first quarter of 2006, a year-on-year increase of 20.7 percent. The sector requires about 800,000 tonnes of PE, 700,000 tonnes of PP (Polypropylene), and 75,000 tonnes of PS (Polystyrene), annually. The primary suppliers of resins are from Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the US. Locally-made resins, currently, meet only one third of the total demand. The industry is now planning to raise local inputs to 50 per cent by 2010, or equal to producing 2.1 million tonnes of material.

Plastic exports in Hanoi earned US$65 million in September 2007, bringing the nine-month total export value to $509 million, up 51 per cent over the same period last year. The Viet Nam Plastics Association said the US, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, the UK, Germany and Cambodia were the biggest importers of Vietnamese plastic products.

Packaging-

Packaging only accounts for around 8-10 percent of Vietnam’s GDP. Vietnam has 900 packaging producers of all sizes. Unfortunately, the increase in the number of manufacturers has not led to a significant improvement in packaging quality and design. This is recognized as a serious problem for Vietnam’s economy as a whole. With packaging inferior to that used for foreign-made products, Vietnamese commodities find themselves less competitive internationally. Vietnam’s packaging production technology is in urgent need of upgrading and appropriate investment.

Numerous companies from Asia and Europe have entered the Vietnam market seeking business opportunities in the packaging industry. Packaging equipment from Germany, Japan, Italy and Taiwan are considered the best sellers in Vietnam. The European Union, Japan, and Taiwan are active in the packaging market, while the US’s participation is significantly less active. These importers are expected to expend time and effort to cultivate effective relationships in the packaging sector.

Printing-

There are more than 700 enterprises/companies employing approximately 50,000 labors. Almost big printing enterprises and companies are located in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City. Small and medium sized ones are scattered all over the country. State-owned companies have greater scale and production output in the printing industry in Vietnam.

It's estimated that the printing industry of Vietnam will develop at rate of approximate 10% year within the next 10 years. This is due to the fast requirements for printing quantity and quality in the domestic market. Moreover, exports of printed products can increase as Vietnam's low labor cost and the stable market are advantages for export to the international market.

There will be more joint ventures and cooperation in the field of training, production of printing consumables. Choosing printing technology in Vietnam is always a question of investors. The aims of printing companies are to increase the printing quality, reduce production costs, and shorten production time. Making quick or slow steps depends on each enterprise. The enterprises which already have advantages in the market should approach quickly to the world's advanced technology.

Food Processing-

Nearly 80 percent of the Vietnamese population is involved in agriculture, which accounts for 30 percent of the GDP and 40 percent of the nation's exports. With a new emphasis on exporting products like rice, coffee, tea, cashews, pepper and seafood, there is a high demand for food processing and packaging equipment that can handle the high volumes of product.

Although the demand for machinery and equipment in the industry is huge, the domestic machinery industry cannot satisfy the internal demand because (despite some skill in copying and reverse-engineering) it has proven poor in design and quality. For the most part, domestic equipment is used in small scale processing factories. Medium and larger food processing enterprises and even smaller firms producing high quality products must rely on imported machinery and equipment. The food processing sector is forecast to maintain an average annual growth rate of 10 – 15 percent for the near term.