Food & Hotel Vietnam 2004: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

AgExporter, Oct, 2004

The Show: Modeled along the proven track record of Food & Hotel Asia, the new Food & Hotel Vietnam trade show has the essential ingredients of a successful trade show, with exhibits on fresh and processed foods; wines and spirits: bakery ingredients and equipment; food service and hotel equipment, furnishings and supplies; and hospitality technology and systems.

The Market: * Vietnam has a dynamic, well-educated population of 80 million consumers and has a stable annual gross domestic product growth rate (about 6.8 percent for 2001,7 percent for 2002 and 7.2 percent for 2003).

* Its retail sector sales show tremendous growth (about 8 percent for 2001, 12.5 percent for 2002 and 11.5 percent for 2003).

* Vietnam is both an opportunity and a challenge for exporters.

* At times, the maze of conflicting regulations is a formidable barrier to trade, but Vietnam is evolving.

* It is becoming more integrated with its fellow members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

* It is implementing a wide range of market-opening provisions under the Vietnam-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement.

* Vietnam is reducing tariffs to enter the ASEAN Free Trade Area.

* Vietnam aspires to join the World Trade Organization in the next two years.

* Consumption of imported consumer-ready food products is increasing. Vietnam imported more than $253 million worth of consumer-ready food products in 2003, up significantly from $239 million in 2002. Vietnam's total food, fish and forest imports were $1.2 billion in 2001, $1.78 billion in 2002 and $2.2 billion in 2003.

Dates: Dec. 2-4, 2004

Best Prospects: Snack foods, fresh deciduous and citrus fruits, canned fruits and vegetables, canned meat products, tree nuts, beer, wines, chilled and frozen meats and frozen poultry

Contacts: Truong Minh Dao FAS Office of Agricultural Affairs Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tel.: (011) 848-825-0502 Fax: (011) 848-825-0503 E-mail: ATOHoChiMinhCity@usda.gov

Teresina Chin FAS Trade Show Office Washington, DC Tel.: (202) 720-9423 Fax: (202) 690-4374 E-mail: Teresina.Chin@usda.gov