Lao handicraft makers are confident of finding AEC markets
Lao handicraft makers are confident of finding AEC markets
The Lao handicraft sector is quite optimistic that their handicraft goods are ready to compete with other Asean countries after the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is formally established next year.
President of the Lao Handicraft Association Mr Hansana Sisane was quoted as saying at a recent meeting that “Lao handicraft products, especially silk textiles are already acknowledged by Asean.”
He was confident that the longstanding acknowledgement by many Asean members that Lao textiles and handmade products will be amongst the country's most well-known goods on the Asean stage.
“Currently the high-ranking officials, heads-of-states and their spouses in Asean are interested in Lao textiles whenever they are here to attend important regional meetings. That's the reason we are confident that our products will be recognised in AEC markets,” Mr Hansana said.
In preparation for the Asean Economic Community in 2015, the association is gearing up to support its members to gain particular knowledge about the AEC's opportunities and challenges in the years ahead.
“We've assigned our members to attend many seminars, workshops and other meetings, which were organised by government bodies, aiming to help them to understand the directions of the AEC and to know exactly what we should do to prepare for it,” he said.
The Lao Handicraft Association is enthusiastic about improving the quality of products by holding many handicraft training courses to ensure that the garment makers regularly upgrade their skills and learn new techniques.
“We are quite familiar with the AEC because members of the association have recently attended many exhibitions being hosted by Asean members,” he said.
Opportunities and challenges are unavoidable for Lao handicraft products because many other Asean countries are also famous for their handicraft products.
“Many Asean countries are already renowned for their handicraft products because they have regularly improved their products over many years but Laos has limited experience,” Mr Hansana said.
He added that Thailand was the biggest market for handicraft goods in Asean. Meanwhile Malaysia and Singapore are destinations for more high spending tourists, while the Philippines and Indonesia also have world-class handicraft designers.
One of the essential activities to promote AEC preparation will see the association in cooperation with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry host the 13th Lao Handicraft Festival 2014 at Lao-ITECC in Vientiane, which will run from October 13-19.
The festival hopes to promote and develop the quality and quantity of member businesses, as well as promote the sale of goods on the domestic and international markets.
Several Asean members will be also invited to join the festival to display their products at the week-long festival.
In the fiscal year 2012-2013, domestic industrial and handicraft production increased by 29.1 percent compared to the past fiscal year.
It now has a total of 38,126 units in the manufacturing sector with a productive capacity of 5,032 billion kip but the value of exports decreased by 7.84 percent, according to the Lao Trade Portal.
vientiane times
