AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam exported 9.53 billion USD worth of textile and garment products in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 9.62% compared with the same period of 2023. The sector targets to an export turnover of 44 billion USD in 2024.

Vietnam’s textile and garment sector keeps its growth
Vietnam’s garment and textile sector is carrying out various measures to speed up production and business activities amidst formidable challenges posed by falling demand, high inventory, and geopolitical instability in several countries, according to insiders.
The textile and garment enterprises have received more export orders but seen no improvement in prices while several contracts even plunge 30-50% in value, they said.
Besides, cotton prices are expected to soar in the coming time due to speculation and logistics difficulties. In the meantime, it could be hard for Vietnamese firms to compete in the Chinese market where tax incentive and support policies on transport costs and electricity have been rolled out to back up domestic production.
Against this backdrop, General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Cao Huu Hieu said that firms need to capitalise on all opportunities, make rational forecast, and get updated with the situation so as to take timely measures.
Furthermore, they should drastically restructure their organisations, apply advanced management solutions, and push ahead projects that help improve productivity, he added.
The Chairman of Vinatex Le Tien Truong stressed that besides challenges, there is ample room for development for those with sound business strategies, diverse products, deep engagement in supply chain, and rational steps towards digital economy and green economy.
The group will keep a close watch on the market and operation of its members so as to pen flexible and breakthrough measures to develop products and seek new markets to ensure business efficiency, he said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Hung Yen Garment Corporation Joint Stock Company Nguyen Xuan Duong held that high input cost and workforce transition to such markets as the Republic of Korea and Japan have placed a burden on the company.
Along with global demand falling by 5-10%, large fashion brands teetering on the brink of bankruptcy is another challenge that makes it hard for Vietnamese firms to recover tens of millions of USD, he said.
Duong suggested competent ministries and sectors to issue suitable policies to help enterprises get access to capital to strengthen investment and bolster production, adding workers also need assistance to improve their livelihoods.
In the first quarter of this year, the garment and textile sector’s export turnover grew nearly 10% year-on-year to some 10 billion USD, a locomotive for enterprises to fulfill the set target of 44 billion USD for the whole year.
FDI flow into garment and textile sector rebounded
According to the insiders, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Vietnamese garment and textile sector has rebounded thanks to the country’s sound investment climate and abundant workforce as well as its open economy.
The Chairman of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) Vu Duc Giang said foreign garment and textile producers are expanding their operations in Vietnam to take advantages in the Vietnamese market.
He said that various free trade agreements (FTA), particularly new-generation deals such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to which Vietnam is a signatory is a locomotive for the sector to lure both domestic and foreign investors.
The management board of industrial parks of the northern province of Nam Dinh has granted an investment certificate to Hong Kong-based Crystal International Group to carry out its 60-million-USD Yi Da Denim Mill project.
The group has run various plants in the northern localities of Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Bac Giang and Phu Tho and the southern province of Binh Duong, with a combined export revenue of some 1 billion USD and generating jobs for 40,000 local workers.
Meanwhile, the world’s leading zipper producer YKK Corp. from Japan invested in its second plant at Dong Van industrial zone in the northern province of Ha Nam. According to YKK Vietnam General Director Yuji Furukawa, after 25 years of operation in Vietnam, YKK has increased its zipper productivity by 100 folds, and the number of workers seven folds to 2,800 labourers.
Earlier, YKK had to import several materials to provide its local customers. However, its Vietnamese plant is now able to manufacture all of YKK products and even ship them to foreign countries like Cambodia and Myanmar, he said.
Most recently, SAB Industrial Vietnam Company Limited under China's Weixing group put into operation its 62-million-USD factory in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa. Covering 66.44 hectares, the factory produces various items, including metal, plastic and nylon zippers, and plastic and metal buttons.
Besides helping the sector reduce its dependence on imported raw materials, FDI capital has played an important role in reducing manufacturing time and transport costs, making products become more competitive.
CK
Source: VITIC/vietnamplus.vn