Customers buy goods at Moc Bai Commercial Centre in Tay Ninh Province. Trade promotion efforts will be stepped up in border areas.

The Prime Minister has approved a plan to disburse about VND16 billion (US$842,000) from the State budget on trade promotion programmes in border regions this year, according to deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade\'s Mountainous Area Trade Department Nguyen Van Hoi.

Under the plan, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance will be authorised to co-ordinate with other related units to set up detailed programmes and principles for the disbursement.

"This is the first time money has been poured in trade promotion in border areas, so we have carefully scrutinised the programmes," said Hoi.

Hoi said the money would be divided among six trade promotion programmes.

About VND4.5 billion ($230,000) will be spent on developing agricultural exports to China at border gates in the northern mountainous provinces of Lang Son and Lao Cai.

Another VND3 billion ($157,000) will be used on capacity building among agricultural export businesses that focus on trade with China by organising training courses on law, certification of origin, payment, contracts and technology.

"It is mostly small-and medium-sized Vietnamese enterprises involved in distribution and sales in border areas. They aren\'t in a position to undertake market research or promote their products. They haven\'t benefited from previous trade promotion programmes," said Hoi.

About VND2 billion ($105,000) will go towards improving Vietnamese logistics in trade with China\'s Guangxi and Yunnan provinces.

"We spent VND6 billion [$315,000] on distributing Vietnamese products to Cambodian and Vietnamese living in remote areas through about 20 retail outlets and events. Each event has cost about VND300 million (US$15,789)," Hoi said.

"Due to weak infrastructure and high transportation costs, Vietnamese goods in border areas are less competitive. So a programme to support enterprises to distribute Vietnamese goods in this region is needed," he added.

The remaining VND500 million ($26,000) will be used for supervision.

"A detailed programme was recently sent to local departments of industry and trade of all 25 border provinces and they have started to implement the task", said Hoi.

Hoi also added that the total money, which is taken from a fund approved by the National Assembly to implement trade promotion activities this year, would be disbursed from now to the end of the first quarter of next year.

"If we don\'t use all the money, the leftover will be used for the future programmes," he said.

Trade promotion activities in mountainous areas and islands would also soon be carried out, he added.