Imported Chinese toothpicks dominate domestic market

Workers make toothpicks in Dien Chau town in the central province of Nghe An. The higher price of domestic toothpicks have reduced their competitiveness. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Canh Yen

HCM CITY — The bamboo toothpick market in HCM City, once dominated by domestic producers, has been inundated with Chinese products.

The Sai Gon Customs Department Zone 1 reported that during the first eight months of the year, 911 tonnes of bamboo toothpicks were imported through the Cat Lai Port, 200 tonnes in August alone.

The imports reached a turn over of US$125,000.

Tran Van Phuoc, owner of a company that imports bamboo toothpicks in HCM City, said the imported products only cost VND2.6 million ($135) per tonne, which was half the price of their locally made counterparts.

"Because of the huge price difference, many businesses prefer to buy imported products," he said.

Chinese toothpicks are more diverse in price, packaging and appearance, with prices ranging from VND2,300 ($0.12) to VND23,000 ($1.2) for 10 packages.

Nguyen Lan Huong, a customer in Tan Binh District said "Chinese toothpicks are white, smooth and clean, while some Vietnamese-made products do not look clean and are even rough."

A representative from Tre Viet Enterprise in Central Highlands' Lam Dong Province said that Vietnamese producers often made toothpicks manually while Chinese companies used more advanced technology.

"Our labour is more expensive and the products do not look as good as Chinese ones," he said.

Leader Vu Ngoc Quynh of Dong A, another toothpick producer, holds a different view, however.

He said "toothpicks are most frequently used in restaurants in Sai Gon, not in households, and restaurant owners choose Chinese toothpicks because they are cheaper".

"We have lost about 30-40 per cent of our customers this year," Quynh said, adding that each month their company sells about four tonnes of toothpicks.

To compete with the imported toothpicks, Quynh said his company was planning to produce a cheaper variety to meet the needs of different types of customers.

"We will try to cut down on costs for large packages to restaurants and supermarkets," he said. —VNS

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China sees Vietnam as gateway to free-trade ASEAN

Chinese officials at a meeting in HCMC on Friday to discuss trade ties - Photo: Thu Nguyet

HCMC – Many Chinese enterprises are keen on Vietnam’s market, considering it as a gateway to enter ASEAN now that a free trade agreement between China and the block is already in place, a Chinese official said in HCMC on Friday

“The free trade area between ASEAN and China has officially been created. Chinese businesses are discovering more and more opportunities to co-operate with Vietnam,” said Deputy Secretary-General of China-ASEAN Business Council Xu Ningning.

“In the first eight months of this year, about 40 conferences have been held in China to help Chinese enterprises go into the ASEAN free trade area… All Chinese enterprises joining the conferences showed keen interest in Vietnam and wanted to invest into the country,” he added.

He explained that as Vietnam and other ASEAN countries had set up a free trade area with almost all goods traded tax-free tax, while Chinese products exported to these markets now did not enjoy such incentives, so “Chinese enterprises consider Vietnam as a gateway to other markets.”

Xu said he is encouraging Chinese enterprises to heighten cooperation with Vietnamese partners via joint ventures, adding Vietnamese businesses should also make the most of the ASEAN-China FTA to boost trade to China.

Xu and leaders of Zhuhai, a city on the southern coast of Guangdong Province, together with 35 enterprises in the city had a meeting with HCMC businesses last Friday to enhance trade ties.

According to Chen Hong Hui, vice mayor of the city, Chinese companies want to boost export of equipment, electric devices, textile and garment and household devices to Vietnam. Meanwhile, they want to buy more farm products and natural minerals from the country.

Data provided by Chinese officials at the meeting show two-way trade between Vietnam and China has increased 6.5 times in the period of 2001-2009. The two-way trade increased 46.3% year-on-year to US$17.8 billion in the January-August period, and is expected to hit US$25 billion this year.

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China says pressure on yuan will not help

An employee counts Renminbi yuan banknotes next to US dollars at a branch of Bank of China in Hefei, Anhui province September 15, 2010.

Photo: Reuters

BEIJING - Pressuring China about its yuan exchange rate could backfire, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, maintaining that Washington is wrong to blame the yuan for US economic woes.

"I want to stress that appreciation of the renminbi would not resolve the problem of the deficit between the US and China and will not resolve the US domestic unemployment problem," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news conference, using the currency's formal name.

"Trade and economic cooperation between China and the United States is mutually beneficial and a win-win proposition. We have always maintained that problems in trade and economic relations between our two countries should be appropriately resolved through consultation on an equal basis. I believe that pressure not only would fail to solve the problems; on the contrary, it could have the opposite effect."

Jiang's comments were Beijing's first official statement on the yuan after sharpened criticism from US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who said on Wednesday that the appreciation of the Chinese currency has been too slow and limited.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry does not have a direct hand in setting exchange rate policy, and can only voice broad official positions on the issue.

US lawmakers are considering a tough new trade law aimed at pressing Beijing to raise sharply the value of the yuan, which many of them say is behind the gaping US trade deficit with China, worth $226.9 billion in 2009.

Asked about US Congress bills on the yuan, Jiang said China had been improving the currency's flexibility since June, when Beijing announced it was ending a currency peg. The yuan has risen about 1.4 percent against the dollar since then, most of that coming in the last 10 trading sessions.

"I can tell you that since June China has been advancing reform of the mechanism of renminbi exchange rate formation based on domestic and external economic and financial conditions and China's international balance of payments, and has been enhancing the elasticity of the renminbi," she said.

"The direction of reforming the renminbi exchange rate that we're adhering to will not change," Jiang added.

Geithner said he wanted China to achieve a "significant, sustained appreciation over time" and for the yuan to "fully reflect market forces."

In recent days, the yuan has scored its fastest rise since February 2008 -- a move that some analysts view as a concession to growing US rancor over the issue.

This year, Beijing and Washington have also gone through bouts of tensions over Chinese Internet censorship, US arms sales to Taiwan, Tibet and human rights, and China's disputed maritime territorial claims.

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Chinese buyers spend record $7 billion in Taiwan

Photo: Tuoi Tre

TAIPEI – A Chinese delegation wrapped up a week-long shopping spree to Taiwan Sunday after securing a record US$7 billion worth of deals for local products, according to media reports.

Contracts were agreed for Taiwanese products ranging from electronics and textiles to food and fruits, Huang Huahua, governor of Guangdong province and the head of the delegation, was quoted as saying by the state-funded Central News Agency.

It was the largest amount spent in one vist by Chinese buyers.

On his arrival at Taoyuan airport, Huang was greeted by a small group of protesters from the Falungong spiritual movement -- which is banned on the mainland -- who unveiled banners. No clashes were reported.

China still regards Taiwan part of its territory awaiting to be reunified by force if necessary, even though the island has ruled itself since 1949.

Yet ties between Taipei and Beijing have improved markedly since 2008 after Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang came to power, pledging to beef up trade and allowing in more Chinese tourists.

In recent months, China has sent a number of purchasing missions to Taiwan as a high-profile way of helping the island's economy by boosting exports.

China had said its trade delegations to Taiwan last year spent 14 billion dollars, shielding the island from the full impact of the financial crisis.

 

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