Nguyen Ngoc Hung, who runs a chain of building material shops in Thanh Hoa province, said he has seen numerous ads about Indian ceramic tiles since 2022.

According to Hung, previously, Indian tiles were available only at some large showrooms and in large cities, but now they can be seen in small showrooms in rural districts.

“Previously, only large companies imported Indian products. But after Covid-19, even companies that only import and export products have begun seeking clients,” he said. 

“They call me, advertise on Facebook and on the internet and meet me directly to offer products. If I agree to cooperate with them, I just have to choose products, factories and negotiate prices, while the partners will be responsible for procedures,” he said, adding that the convenient import procedure is a reason behind the high import growth rate of Indian tiles in recent years.

The director of a company that retails building materials in Yen Bai said many suppliers have offered tiles for sale, but he has not made a final decision. The prices offered by the suppliers are higher than domestic products.

“They offer Indian products at over VND200,000 per sq m, while Vietnamese products are priced at just VND130,000 per sq m for 60x60 and VND150,000-170,000 for 80x80,” he said.

“Customers feel insecure about the products as the prices vary. The 1.2x1.2m glossy enamel granite paint products are selling at VND350,000 at some shops, but the prices are VND450,000 at others or even VND650,000 at shops in central business districts. It is very difficult to assess the quality of products with the naked eye,” Hung said, adding that it is necessary to conduct technical analysis to differentiate the quality of products.

Indian product sellers are taking full advantage of the lack of knowledge to boost sales. Buyers cannot tell the difference between low-cost, mid-end and high-end Indian products.

In most cases, buyers receive information about products from sellers, so they face high risks. But don’t face such risks when buying Vietnam-made products. Hung said he is ready to bring customers to the factories, so that they can witness the process of making products.

Some ceramic tile retailers told VietNamNet that the quality of Indian products is not the same. Small shops import tiles through logistics firms, so the quality is not guaranteed, and they don’t know to whom they can complain about product quality.

Domestic market

Tran Tuan Dai, deputy chair and deputy CEO of AMY GRUPO, admitted that he feels pressure from Indian tiles.

“Indian tiles are present everywhere in the market. Retailers go to every corner, every house to offer to sell products. In the past, cheap Chinese products were a threat. But nowadays, some kinds of Indian products are even cheaper,” he said.

“Indian tile imports soared by 240 percent last year. The figure is expected to increase by several times this year,” Dai said.

Explaining the strong rise of Indian products, Dai said previously Chinese products accounted for 50 percent of global market share. 

Because of trade barriers from Europe, the US, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, its market share has narrowed to 25 percent. 

Grasping the opportunity, India has increased its investment. They have about 2,800 ceramic tile plants, while Vietnam has 80.

“The quality of Indian products is uncertain, but as they are very cheap, their market share has been growing rapidly,” Dai said, adding that some countries have taken action and enacted trade barriers to the products.

The eight countries in the Gulf, for example, have applied trade remedies against Indian products. Europe has started an anti-dumping probe against Indian tiles, planning to impose duties in 2023. 

Indonesia has applied trade remedies against tile imports from countries, including India, to protect its ceramic industry.

“Regarding Indian imports, we can see that there are signs of unfair competition. There are many small fragmented factories in India using medium technologies and very few factories using high technologies. They run with a cheap labor force and loose environmental safety conditions, so their production costs are low. 

"Meanwhile, Vietnamese enterprises have to make heavy investments to satisfy Vietnamese and world standards, so production costs cannot be so low,” said Dai from AMY GRUPO.

The fact that Indian tile imports are taxed only 5 percent under the ASEAN-India agreement is also a reason that makes Indian products competitive in prices.

Dai warned that if Vietnam doesn’t have reasonable solutions to solve the problem the domestic market would be controlled by Indian and Chinese enterprises.

Luong Bang