Bat Trang artisans, villagers band against cheap imports

      Bat Trang ceramics artisans and producers are mobilising to make them more competitive against imports being sold in the village, some under the local brand name.
The local products are hand-made and individually crafted with each one being different, whereas the imported are produced in bulk at a lower temperature using cheaper glazes.
Local authorities say they will spare no effort to preserve their brand’s foothold by cutting prices to compete against the imports, which are up to 20 per cent cheaper, and to highlight the local products.
"We are working hard to purify Bat Trang ceramics," says Bat Trang Ceramics Association Chairman Le Xuan Pho. "It is unacceptable to mistake Bat Trang ceramics for Chinese or other ceramics."
Pho’s concern is echoed by connoisseurs, who voice disappointment at the number of inferior and forged products being sold at the Bat Trang ceramic market.
Buyer Nguyen Anh Minh says he does not go to the Bat Trang ceramics market to buy Phu Lang ceramics or any other.
"I just want to buy original ceramics products of Bat Trang itself," he says.
Worse still, imported ceramics are being sold under the Bat Trang ceramics brand name and inexperienced buyers cannot tell the difference.
Bat Trang ceramics are handmade and some pieces are unique. They are usually burned at 1,000oC, which makes the glaze turn opaque and the products more durable.
Imported ceramics, on the other hand, are produced on a production line and burned at 800oC, thus making them cheaper but inferior.
"By burning at a lower temperature they can use a cheaper glaze and thus further cut costs," artisan Nguyen Van Sao says. The imported products are usually very colourful, but many are of the same design whereas most of the local pieces are unique.
To preserve the Bat Trang ceramics brand name, Pho says artisans and production households in the village are being mobilised to cut the price of their ceramics and make them more competitive.
Pho says the programme will also help minimise the impact of the global economic crisis.
It will cost tens of billions of dong to implement the one-year programme to promote the production of high quality ceramics, which started in January, he says. The investment will come from businessmen and villagers who no longer find it profitable to play the stock market, keep money in the bank or trade in real estate.
Pho believes Bat Trang Village retailers will give up selling imported ceramics once they find the quality and price of Bat Trang ceramics more competitive.
"The appearance of imported ceramics has been a headache to the village," Bat Trang Commune People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Ao says.
Ceramics and products from well-known ceramics families like Chu Dau, Phu Lang, Dong Trieu and Binh Duong are also put on sale in Bat Trang merely to meet customer demand, he says.
However, he agrees that only products produced by the Bat Trang Village should be sold in the village.
Artisan Nguyen Tien Dat says the traditional craft village is in danger of losing its natural character and its revenue.
Last year the village earned VND172 billion (over US$10 million) from the craft, down from the VND226 billion ($14 million) in the previous year.
Many families have stopped making ceramics because they cannot sell their products. Of the 950 households doing the trade in 2007, only about 800 remain in the game.
Though the number of households may continue to decrease, Ao believes the village’s total revenue will not go down if the programme to increase the quality and cut costs is successful.
The village will also improve its marketing overseas on which it is most reliant. It exports about 64 per cent of its ceramics to Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, the UK and Germany every year.
Minh Hai Ceramics Company Director Nguyen Huy Quan believes in the production and retailing of only Bat Trang ceramics. His company sells 90 per cent village products.
"Though the number of customers buying our ceramics has dropped due to the global economic crisis, most of our customers still like to buy Bat Trang products," Quan says.