The Department of Industry under Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment, in cognizant to the market access challenges faced by Cottage and Small Industries (CSIs), supported eight CSIs producing foods and beverages to take part in the Ho Chi Minh City International Exhibition of Food and Beverages (HCMC FoodEx) 2026 in Vietnam from 15 to 18 April. The team included a coordinating official from the department as well. 

The international exhibition was themed “Global Flavors - Vietnamese Values”. The chief guest, in his opening ceremony, stated stated that the exhibition serves not only as a platform to showcase products that meet international standards with export potentials, but also as a forum to foster connections and business linkages.  The event is said to have brought together over 350 domestic and international enterprises along with participants from organisations and partners from more than 20 countries and territories.

The Bhutanese participants showcased and sold Bhutanese natural products such as herbal tea, noodles, spices, pickles, semi-candies, sea buckthorn juices, raw honey, coffee and shilajit.

During the event, participants actively engaged in showcasing Bhutanese products and made some sales too. Besides, they were able to meet many fellow exhibitors and other business entities such as supermarkets and retailers in the B2B linkage activity initiated by the event organizers. Moreover, they gained valuable exposure and information that would help their products penetrate Vietnamese markets in future.