Vietnamese businesses need to seize the 'golden' opportunity to diversify markets

The unstable world economic and political situation is motivating Vietnamese businesses to seek new markets, avoiding the risk of being too dependent on any market.

Ms. Phan Thi Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade - Photo: BTC

On September 4, speaking at the 2025 Export Forum "Connecting the international supply chain", Mr. Ta Hoang Linh, Director of the Department of Foreign Market Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that because they had already exported to the US market, many businesses were not too enthusiastic about the proposal to seek new markets despite being offered support.

However, faced with the reality that this option is increasingly facing challenges in the business environment, policy risks and declining market demand, many Vietnamese enterprises have begun to pay attention to market diversification.

There is demand for goods from Vietnam.

According to Mr. Linh, while Vietnamese enterprises are starting to pay attention to finding new markets, it is at a time when international buyers need to diversify their supply sources due to geopolitical instability.

“They see Vietnam as a strategic market to provide a variety of goods for their supply chain,” said Mr. Linh.

According to Tuoi Tre , the trend of finding more supply sources in Vietnam was also expressed by many brands at the forum. Ms. Rachel Vanessa Tan, manager of sustainable development in Southeast Asia of H&M Fashion Group, affirmed that this year the brand will increase the number of Vietnamese partners from 112 to 134 factories.

H&M also emphasized that major brands have very specific criteria for evaluating and selecting suppliers in Vietnam, however, transparency, sustainability and large-order production capacity are still the three most important requirements.

“This is also a driving force to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods, creating opportunities for businesses to invest in science and technology to compete with goods from other countries,” Mr. Linh said, referring to the challenges and opportunities when diversifying the market of Vietnamese businesses.

Business representatives including both buyers and sellers in the networking booth at the 2025 Export Forum held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City on September 4 - Photo: NGHI VU

Challenges come with opportunities

Sharing from business reality, Mr. Diep Nam Hai, General Director of Cholimex, said that when approaching new markets, especially the European Union, Cholimex must comply with many very high standard systems, including standards related to the environment (green development - digital), social security, production and business.

However, if businesses overcome these challenges, the bright spot will be the “large FTA corridor”, from which Vietnamese businesses can take advantage to diversify markets and improve competitiveness.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first 7 months of 2025, Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached nearly 515 billion USD, up 16.3% over the same period last year. Ms. Phan Thi Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said that Vietnam's exports to markets with free trade agreements (FTAs) have all seen positive recovery.

New generation FTAs ​​such as CPTPP, EVFTA and UKVFTA, along with a series of bilateral and multilateral FTAs, have created a wide market network for Vietnam, opening up many opportunities for Vietnamese businesses and industries.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of trading partners, Mr. Victor Key, President of the Vietnam - Brazil Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the Latin American region, especially Brazil, is a potential market for Vietnamese exports, from food, consumer goods, textiles to machinery and electronic components.

However, Mr. Key also noted that Vietnamese enterprises wishing to successfully penetrate the market need to adapt to local tastes, respect local culture, build sustainable cooperative relationships and understand the market structure.

Truong Linh - NGHI VU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/doanh-nghiep-viet-nam-can-nam-bat-thoi-co-vang-da-dang-hoa-thi-truong-20250904211034513.htm