HCM City steps up preparations for National Spring Fair 2026

HCM City steps up preparations for National Spring Fair 2026

The Ministry of Industry and Trade held a working session with the HCM City People's Committee on December 31 to discuss preparations for the second National Fair – Spring 2026, an event expected to become a key platform for integrated trade, investment and cultural promotion.

Visitors crowd the pavilion showcasing HCM City’s signature and flagship products at the Autumn Fair 2025, drawing strong interest from both residents and tourists. — VNA/VNS Photo

The Spring Fair 2026 will follow the successful debut of the National Autumn Fair in 2025 and forms part of a newly proposed four-season national fair series, covering Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

The initiative aims to stimulate domestic consumption, support export expansion and promote Việt Nam’s national brand in an increasingly competitive global environment.

Speaking at the meeting, Vũ Bá Phú, director general of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that immediately after the Autumn Fair concluded in 2025, the ministry began working with relevant ministries and agencies to develop a comprehensive proposal for a national fair series.

According to Phú, the model is unprecedented within the current legal framework, as existing regulations only recognise export promotion fairs or specialised industry exhibitions.

“The concept of a national fair with an integrated, multi-sectoral scope and strong international participation has not previously been defined,” he said, noting that this had posed challenges during the proposal’s development.

Beyond trade promotion, the national fair series is designed to showcase Việt Nam’s image as a whole, including its people, culture, production capacity, investment climate and development aspirations in the context of deeper global integration.

To facilitate implementation, the Government Office has approved the establishment of a steering committee for national fairs, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn.

The decision, issued on December 24, provides the institutional basis for approving the proposal and launching the National Spring Fair 2026, scheduled to take place in early February.

Under the overall plan, the Spring Fair 2026 will cover an area of approximately 130,000 square metres. Functional zones will be arranged in a circular layout to create a continuous visitor experience.

While each fair in the four-season series will have a comprehensive character, a major international specialised exhibition will serve as its focal point.

For the Spring Fair 2026, the selected specialised exhibition will focus on the textile, garment, leather–footwear and wood-processing value chains.

These sectors are among Việt Nam’s key export earners but are currently facing mounting pressure from stricter rules of origin and reciprocal tariff policies in major markets.

Inviting international suppliers of raw materials and components to participate, Phú said, would not only support export activities but also help Vietnamese enterprises diversify supply sources, reduce dependence on single markets and improve compliance with origin requirements.

The specialised exhibition is expected to feature around 600–700 standard booths and operate entirely under a B2B model.

It will be accompanied by business-matching forums, investment networking events and in-depth seminars jointly organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and related agencies.

At the meeting, the ministry proposed the city as the host and theme city of the Spring Fair 2026.

Phú said the city’s image is closely associated with dynamism, openness and vitality, making it a natural choice for a “Spring City” theme.

The space dedicated to the city is expected to cover about 6,000–6,500 square metres and will be designed as an integrated experience zone rather than a conventional cluster of commercial booths.

The area will highlight the city’s achievements and development orientations in trade, services, industry, science and technology, innovation, investment attraction and urban development.

“The host city space should not resemble a traditional craft market. It needs to reflect the city’s stature, vision and modern development orientation,” Phú stressed.

“For HCM City, it should be a ‘mini expo’ that allows international visitors to clearly perceive its role as a regional economic, commercial and innovation hub.”

Despite the ambitious scope, organisers face significant challenges, particularly a tight preparation timeline of just over one month, coinciding with year-end administrative workloads and the New Year holiday.

Financial mechanisms for participating ministries and agencies are also still being finalised.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Industry and Trade praised HCM City for its proactive and decisive approach. Early internal coordination, task assignment and the designation of focal points have demonstrated the city’s readiness to undertake the role assigned by the Government.

Providing the city’s perspective, Trần Phú Lữ, director of the city Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), said the city aims to present a comprehensive image of a “new HCM City” that is moving towards a larger development scale through stronger spatial linkages with neighbouring localities such as Bình Dương and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu.

Through the Spring Fair, the city hopes to showcase the distinctive cultural colours of southern Việt Nam while conveying its openness, dynamism and strong development ambitions.

Visitors, especially those from overseas, are expected not only to gain insights into the city’s economic strengths but also to sense its long-term vision in a new growth phase.

As the opening event of the national fair series in 2026, the Spring Fair is widely seen as a testing ground for an integrated trade–culture–investment promotion model.

With coordinated efforts from ministries, agencies and localities, particularly the city as the host, the event is expected to become a new highlight on Việt Nam’s international exhibition map and contribute to enhancing the country’s image in the years ahead. 

Bizhub