Customs data shows imports from China in 2017 were high at 9 billion USD, or 42.7 percent of all textile-related imports, and 12 percent higher than in 2016.

Vietnam often imports raw materials also from the Republic of Korea and Taiwan. RoK products cost a fourth of Chinese products while Taiwanese products cost a fifth.

Last year, Vietnam’s imports from China included over $6 billion worth of silk, 2 billion USD worth of leather and 800 million USD worth of threads.

However, according to the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (Vitas), textile exports to China have been rising steadily, going up from 2.2 billion USD in 2015 to 3.2 billion USD last year. Vitas expects the figure to continue rising.

Vitas said China’s imports of Vietnamese textile products are not taxed because of the ASEAN – China Free Trade Area while imports from countries such as India and Pakistan incur a 3–5 percent tax.

China is one of Vietnam’s top five textile export markets.

Since that country has the world’s largest population, its market can be extensively segmented offering a great opportunity for local textile products.

Vietnam’s textile and garment exports were worth 31 billion USD last year.