Cambodia offers plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese exporters although there is intense competition from countries such as Thailand and China, delegates said at a conference in HCM City last Thursday.

Le Quoc Phong, general director of the Binh Dien Fertiliser Group, said the Cambodian market had been familiar with fertilizers imported from Thailand and China. Therefore, the company faced difficulties in the initial step of penetrating the market.

Thanks to providing training courses for its sale agents as well as farmers, the company had gradually won consumers' confidence in its products. As a result, sales had increased strongly in recent years, Phong said.

He said last year the company earned US$50 million from the export of 90,000 tonnes of fertilizers to the Cambodia market. It expects to export130,000 tonnes of fertilizers worth $70 million this year.

Kao Sieu Luc, general director of ABC Bakery, also said Cambodia had very high export potential, but "we must understand consumers' taste and produce suitable products."

The company's revenue from the Cambodian market went up more than 40 per cent year on year, Luc told the conference organized by the Business Study and Assistance Centre.

He said the company planned to open 10 bakery shops in the coming time.

It also planned to build a bakery factory in the market.

Tang Quang Trong, sales director in Indochina region of Dai Dong Tien Corporation, said Cambodia was also a large market for Vietnamese plastic products for which Thailand posed stiff competition. Hence the company had focused on improving their products' quality and expanding its distribution system.

Currently the company enjoyed very good sales in Cambodia, Trong said, adding that it planned to construct a warehouse there as part of its expansion plan.

He said Vietnamese products exported to Cambodia must have labels in English.

Le Xuan Khue, deputy chairman of the Vietnamese High-Quality Products Business Association, said the association would organize a five-day trade fair of Vietnamese high-quality goods and exports in Cambodia from August 9-13.

The 10th edition of the fair would be a good chance for Vietnamese firms to reinforce their brands in the Cambodian market, Khue said, adding more than 150 Vietnamese businesses would take part in the event.