작성일자: 2013.4.1

작성자: 하노이 무역관 Ms. Pham Hoang Anh (hoanganhphm@gmail.com)

 

 

1. Market Overview

 

 ○ From a macro perspective, the eye care industry is in the bloom. Population in Vietnam has increased rapidly in recent years and the percentage of the population that need vision correction relatively augments.

 

 ○ Today in Vietnam, about one-quarter of a population of approximately 87 million (2011), or 20.9 million people, needs reading glasses. According to consultants statistics, only 0.4% of the eligible, addressable population purschased reading glasses. It means that in Vietnam, over 18.9 million potential customers currently have no access to this product.

 

 ○ In Vietnam, students’ visual acuity and refractive errors are still matters Ophthalmological Departments in particular and for Medical and Educational general. According to a survey from Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology myopia in primary schools is 18%, in secondary schools 25.5% and Based on this survey of 1,100 freshmen at the National Technical College September, 2009, the records were identified as follows:

  - General rate of decreasing level of vision is 21.6%, of which refractive and cataract 0.4%.

  - Rate of decreasing level of vision caused by refractive errors is 17.2%, astigmatism 3.0% and hypermetropia 1.3%.

  - Acuity without eyeglass wear (3/10 CF 4m) is 59.1%.

  - Acuity with current eyeglass wear between 4/10 and 7/10 is 55.3%.

  - Acuity with eyeglass wear adjustment > 7/10 is 92.0%.

  - Students wearing spectacles with incorrect lenses account for 58.7%.

 

 ○ Vietnam has had a steadily growing market for eyeglasses, but met essentially from low-end domestic products and Chinese imports. According to a research of Italian economic development agency, the total market is estimated at around 7 million pairs per year, with no clear pointers to market value, and is growing at 10%. Vision-correcting or prescription glasses account for 15%, while sunglasses hold the remaining 85% of the market. Besides frames, there is a similar market for glass and plastic lenses, including contact lenses. However, dusty climatic conditions make contact lenses a very small segment of the Vietnamese market.

 

 ○ Glasses manufacturing industry in Vietnam consists of many small players, with no single dominant firm. The majority of Vietnamese frame makers are located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but a small number are also located regionally. The consultant’s interviews with frame makers suggest that the Vietnamese frame-making business is a declining industry due to intensive competition from the Chinese. The root of this disparity appears to be that the Vietnamese manufacturing industry lacks the technology and expertise to produce high-quality plastic and metal frames that can compete effectively with Chinese imports.

 

 ○ The frames market is largely unorganised, with only 5% share of the organized segment. Spectacle frames were reserved for manufacture in small-scale units, which could only turn out basic, low-end products, devoid of modern production methods and technology.

 

 ○ Despite the liberalisation of the import of spectacle frames in 2004, the Vietnamese government still maintains import duties on spectacle frames and parts averaging 40% of the retail price in order to protect small-scale industry workers. Importers either buy premium-priced foreign branded spectacles or buy the lowest quality spectacles from China to minimise duties.

 

 

2. Products and Pricing Trends

 

 ○ In Vietnam, products and price of sunglasses and frames are very diverse from different origins and distributed via many channels.

 

 ○ Only a few companies importing and distributing products of eyewear brands, accounting for about 15% of market share. Meanwhile the rest is fake and low-quality products. People can easily buy glasses and frames of famous brands such as Gucci, RayBan  in markets or vendors with only from VND 20,000 (US$ 1). Fake glasses and frames are mainly produced in China and reaching a sophisticated level.

 

 ○ Optical stores, opticians and ophthalmologists are the current primary retail distributors of glasses. These outlets are supplied by a number of independently owned spectacle wholesalers, based primarily in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The majority of revenues for these outlets come from eye exams and selling prescriptive lenses and frames.

 

 ○ Optical retailers are not readily accessible to the majority of the population. In Vietnam, there is an average of one eye care professional per 30,200 people. In urban areas, there is approximately one optician per 6,000 people, but there are generally no resident opticians in peri-urban and rural areas with populations under 20,000 people.In the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi, there are approximately 400 opticians, one per 12,000 people. As a result, the majority of rural Vietnamese have extremely limited access to professional eye care and those living in urban areas face limited choices.

 

 ○ On average, normal glasses price is ranging from US$ 2.5 to US$ 20; medium’s range is from US$ 20 to US$ 70; high-level products’s range is from US$ 100 to US$ 400 and super luxury products’ price is from US$ 500.

 

 ○ Below is the list of both authentic and fake sunglasses and frames referred from different websites of optical retailers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and www.vatgia.com.

 

Image	Price (US$)
	2.5
	3
	15
	4.5
	9
	10
	80
	270
	160

 

 ○ Glasses of decent quality sold at optical retailers are not affordable to the majority of the population. The screening and purchase process of an optical visit is also expensive for most Vietnamese, 40% of whom earn less than VND 13,000 ($1.00) per day. Based on market research of KOTRA, the cost of a full eye exam is between VND 10,000~150,000 ($.80~12.00). The price range of ready-made reading spectacles at the opticians visited by the consultant was from VND 18,000 ($1.40) for the lowest quality ‘use-and-throw away’ spectacles, to above VND 140,000 ($11.00). Additionally, there is an estimated VND 35,000~100,000 opportunity cost for workers who must travel during working hours to the opticians and undergo the screening and purchasing process while losing valuable time away from their jobs. That is the reason why poor-quality or fake glasses sold in vendors or markets are still consumed with large amount.

 

 

3. Import Statistics

 

 ○ The table below shows the import value of HS Code 900319 (frames and mountings for spectacles, goggles or the like, and parts thereof of other materials) to Vietnam from major suppliers during the period 2006 to 2011.

 

            (Unit: US$ Thousands)

Exporters	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
China	187	206	231	1,591	1,516	1,212
Japan	1,213	2,490	516	695	687	604
Italy	290	550	385	526	564	620
Korea	432	711	575	331	383	360
Hongkong	357	450	1,330	7	191	120
Others	279	371	399	1,102	1,222	1,373
Total	2,758	4,778	3,436	4,180	4,563	4,289

Source: www.trademap.org

 

 ○ Regarding the data, optical frames are mainly imported from Asian countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Hongkong and a small proportion from European countries as Italy and France. In general, there is a upward trend with some fluctuations in total import value from 2006 to 2011. By 2011, the import volume peaked at nearly US$ 4.3 million, 1.5 times higher compared to 2006’s volume.

 

 ○ Before 2008, Japan is the biggest supplier for Vietnamese market but then, the import value of China increased sharply from US$ 231,000 (2008) to US$ 1,59 million (2009) and became the leader exporter to Vietnam until now. Korean’s export value to Vietnam in this period was unstable and accounting for nearly one third of China’s value.

 

Source: www.trademap.org & KOTRA Hanoi Surveys

 

 ○ It can be seen from the pie chart that China is the largest provider of optical frames for Vietnam but the volume is  not much bigger than other countries. Eyeglasses and frames are fashion products and affect health hence there is still a stable demand for good quality products from Korea, Japan or European countries.

 

 

4. Import Barriers

 

 ○ Glasses and frames are normal commodities; therefore there is no additional document that needs to submit for the customs clearance. The presentation of documents includes the common documents such as:

  - Contract

  - Certificate of origin (C/O)

  - Bill of Lading (B/L)

  - Certification of Quality (C/Q)

  - Packing List (P/L), and

  - Commercial Invoice

 

 ○ The table below indicates tariff applying on commodity of HS Code 900319 (frames and mountings for spectacles, goggles or the like, and parts thereof)

 

HS Code	Description	Unit	MFN/WTO	AKFTA	VJEPA	VAT (%)
9003	Frames and mountings for spectacles, goggles or the like, and parts thereof
	Frames and mountings
9003.11.00	Of plastics	Unit	10	5	5.5	10
9003.19.00	Of other materials	Unit	10	5	5.5	10
9003.90.00	Parts	Unit	10	5	5.5	10

Note:

MFN: Most Favored Nations (Korea belongs to this group of nations)

AKFTA: ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area.

VJEPA: Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement

Source: Export–Import Tariff and VAT on Imports Book, Ministry of Finance, 2013