According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the export turnover of Vietnamese handicrafts increased in average by 9.5% per year recently and reached US$2.8 billion in 2021. The US is the largest market for Vietnamese handicrafts, besides that are EU (especially Germany, UK, France, the Netherlands…), Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea (RoK)…The well known handicraft products in Vietnam are natural fibers (rattan, bamboo, seagrass, water hyacinth…), ceramics (indoor and outdoor), lacquerware, wood crafts and furniture (turning, carving, inlaid…), textiles (silk, cotton, hemp, ramie, embroidery), metal casting and hammering, jewelries, toys…
The Vietnamese artisans are very good at plaiting and braiding. According to the experts, the artisans in Vietnam can make over 200 different plaiting and braiding techniques to create so diversified designs of baskets, storages, laundries, boxes… The indoor ceramic in Vietnam are stunning with tabletop articles like flower vases, dining wares…, many of them are in the collection of the top ceramic stores in the world while the outdoor ceramic in Vietnam are unique with terracotta planters, bubble glazed pots (Atlantic ceramic)…Lacquerware in Vietnam is always special when the artisans can play well with many surface coating materials, from natural lacquer (Rhus Succedanea), cashew nut lacquer or water-based PU…
The Government of Vietnam will focus on improving the export capacity and value chain of Vietnam’s handicrafts based on products with competitive advantages, increasing the value and enhancing the conformity with international standards/ compliances. According to the government’s plan, the export turnover of the handicraft sector is expected to reach USD4 billion USD by 2025 in a sustainable manner. The development of the handicraft sector should reflect the fact that consumers are increasingly concerned about environmental and social issues, especially those related to traceability of the raw materials, labor practices, workers’ safety and health and friendly environmental production methods.