Indian tiles flood in, Vietnamese businesses worried

Indian goods flood in

Since 2022, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, who runs a construction materials store chain in Xuan Thanh, Thanh Hoa , has been tired of receiving many advertisements for Indian tiles.

“Since the end of 2022, I have had to spam all these advertisements because there is too much information and I am tired,” Mr. Hung told PV. VietNamNet.

According to Mr. Hung, previously Indian tiles were only sold in a few large showrooms in big cities, but now they have penetrated into small showrooms in districts.

Indian tiles increase presence in Vietnam

“Previously, only large units imported Indian tiles. But after Covid-19, some businesses that only did import and export work also looked for customers. I constantly received phone calls, advertisements on Facebook, the Internet, and they even approached me directly to offer cooperation opportunities and their imported products and services. If I agreed, I just had to choose the model, factory, price, etc. They did all the other procedures. Importing tiles is so convenient,” Mr. Hung explained, saying that was the reason why Indian tiles have grown strongly in the past two years.

The director of a construction materials company in Yen Bai also said: "Some units invited me but I was still hesitant so I did not agree to import. Their offered price was also higher than domestic goods."

“For the same size 60x60 or 80x80, domestic brick prices are 130,000 VND/m and 150,000-170,000 VND/m respectively. As for Indian goods, they offer a price of more than 200,000 VND/m,” he said.

Through contact with the offers, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung found that Indian goods are "price-chaotic" in Vietnam.

“Customers are also insecure about the price. Same size, color, bone, and glaze, but many units sell at different prices. For example, 1.2m x 1.2m glossy glazed tile, painted with granite, some units retail for 350 thousand, but some sell for 450 thousand, some sell for 550 thousand, some sell for 650-750 thousand. Judging by the naked eye, they are basically the same, of course, different prices require analysis of the quality of glaze, surface, brand, and different prices. But consumers cannot distinguish, do not know how to choose correctly,” Mr. Hung confided, saying that Indian goods are taking advantage of the “foreign preference” mentality of a segment of customers.

Users are also lost in the “matrix” of Indian tiles when they cannot tell whether the product is low-end, mid-range or high-end. That is information that is very difficult to verify.

“Most customers can only receive information from the seller, so there are many risks,” Mr. Hung warned. Meanwhile, with domestic products, he is willing to take customers to the factory to visit and verify the products.

Many shop owners commented: The quality of Indian tiles is not consistent. Small retail stores import through logistics companies, so the quality is both funny and sad, and no one can solve it.

Fear of losing domestic market

Mr. Tran Tuan Dai, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Deputy General Director of AMY Group, admitted to PV. VietNamNet that he is feeling great pressure from Indian tiles.

“Everywhere, every corner has Indian goods. They send people to sell and solicit from each store. In the past, the price of Chinese goods was scary, but now Indian goods are more diverse and cheaper,” he worries.

“Last year, Indian tiles imported into Vietnam increased by 240%, and are expected to increase several times this year,” Mr. Dai estimated.

Vietnam's ceramic tile industry has ranked 4th in the world .

Explaining the reason for the rise of Indian goods, Mr. Dai said: Previously, Chinese goods accounted for 50% of the global market share. But when facing trade barriers from Europe, America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East,... the market share dropped to 25%. Seizing this opportunity, India increased investment. They have about 2,800 tile factories, while Vietnam has only more than 80 factories.

“Indian goods are of unstable quality, but with cheap prices, they have captured market share in many countries, growing rapidly and shockingly. Therefore, a series of countries have conducted investigations and set up barriers,” Mr. Dai said.

Typically, 8 Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE,... have imposed trade defense taxes on Indian goods. Europe is also conducting anti-dumping investigations on Indian tiles, expected to impose taxes in 2023. Indonesia imposes trade defense taxes on tiles from other countries, including India, to protect the ceramic industry.

“We assess that Indian goods entering Vietnam have some signs of unfair competition. In India, there are many small, fragmented factories with average technology, a few with high technology, relying on cheap labor, and lax environmental safety conditions, so the products have low prices. Meanwhile, domestic enterprises have to invest heavily to meet Vietnamese and world standards, so the prices cannot be that low,” shared the leader of AMY GRUPO.

The fact that the import tax on Indian tiles, according to the ASEAN - India Agreement, is only 5%, is also the reason why competitively priced Indian goods flood into Vietnam.

“The construction industry is facing difficulties, so total demand from 2022 until now has been damaged. Coupled with the invasion of Indian goods, many domestic enterprises are only running at 50% capacity,” Mr. Dai worried.

Without a solution, tile manufacturers are worried that the domestic market will fall to India and China. Domestic companies will suffer losses and stop operating. Vietnam's tile industry is ranked 4th in the world, which is an advantage to participate in the global supply chain. It would be a pity to let such a prestigious industry be damaged when Vietnam needs many industries to have a foothold in the world.

Faced with the sudden increase in imported Indian ceramic tiles into the Vietnamese market, on April 7, the Vietnam Construction Ceramics Association convened a conference with major ceramic tile manufacturers in the industry to discuss measures to protect production and the domestic market.

Mr. Dinh Quang Huy, Chairman of the Association, said: Indian companies have come to offer construction material dealers a variety of product types and sizes at very low prices, even only half the price of Vietnamese tiles of the same type in the domestic market. Import volume will continue to increase in the coming time.

“Businesses all agree that Vietnam's tile manufacturing industry will be seriously threatened and will not be able to develop if a solution is not urgently found to prevent tiles imported from India,” the association's leader warned.

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