AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam's textile and garment exports noticed a decline of 15.6 per cent, reaching $12.659 billion, during the period of January to May 2023, as per preliminary data from the customs IT and statistics department of the general department of customs under Vietnam's ministry of finance.

In April 2023, exports increased by 14.8 per cent to $2.916 billion compared to the previous month.
During January to May 2023, Vietnam's yarn exports decreased by 28.8 per cent to $1,688.272 million in comparison to the same period of the previous year. In terms of volume, Vietnam exported 678,293 tons of yarn, representing a 6.1 per cent decline compared to the exports during the same period last year.
In May 2023, yarn exports gained 9.5 per cent to $390.772 million, and the quantity of yarn exports increased by 11.2 per cent to 160,310 tons during the review period.
The US accounted for a significant share of 43.43 per cent in Vietnam's textile and garment exports, amounting to $5.498 billion during the first five months of this year. Japan and South Korea were also major destinations, with exports of $1,424.421 million and $1,142.355 million, respectively.
70,000 job cuts in Jan-May 2023
Workers in Vietnam’s garment and textile sector suffered the most from a series of job cuts in the first five months this year, with 70,000 workers losing their jobs and 66,600 ending up with reduced working hours, according to a report by the ministry of labour, invalids and social affairs (MoLISA).
The total number of employees in the country affected by job cuts during the duration was nearly 510,000, of which 280,000 were laid off.
Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) president Vu Duc Giang attributed the mass lay-offs to a lack of orders. While many companies have large inventory that is not worthy of export, new orders are unavailable, he said.
Since the beginning of the third quarter of 2022 till now, a significant number of businesses in the industry have observed a precipitous decline in orders, Giang was quoted as saying by a Vietnamese media report.
As textile companies make every effort to reduce production costs to retain workforce, Giang is concerned that cheap labour will no longer be a competitive advantage for Vietnam's garment and textile producers.
Germany supports textile workers affected by COVID-19
The German Development Ministry (BMZ) is supporting over two million workers in textile factories in seven nations, including Viet Nam, as part of its Emergency COVID-19 Support Program.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is to give €14.5 million (US$17m) to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) program to help garment workers affected by COVID-19 in seven countries.
The multi-donor initiative provides cash transfers and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as awareness-raising campaigns, in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, and Vietnam, according to Ecotextile News.
Accordingly, the German Government will provide EUR14.5 million to help two million people. For example, young mothers and workers particularly at risk of falling into poverty will receive one-off support payments. The project also aims to build up testing capacities in order to protect workers' health. With these measures, the sponsor is expected to preserve hundreds of thousands of jobs, VGP cited.
Loses textile and garment orders to Bangladesh due to slow green transition
Vietnam has lost textile and garment orders to Bangladesh and may be stripped of the position of the second largest exporter of apparel products in the world by the South Asian country due to its tardiness in green transition.
Bangladesh has been quicker in greening supply chains. Its requirements to green supply chains have been made clear and improved its exporters’ competitiveness and opportunities to secure orders, Nguyen Minh Duy, general secretary of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, said at the “Green Linkage – Green Export” seminar held on Thursday.
The seminar is part of the ongoing Ho Chi Minh Export Forum and Trade Fair 2023 held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.
Bangladesh has up to 153 apparel factories meeting Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) standards as of this year and 500 others have filed for the LEED certification.
VN textile, garment firms switching to green production
Textile and garment businesses in Vietnam are taking steps to switch to green production to meet partners’ demand and achieve sustainable development, the Cong Thuong (Industry & Trade) newspaper reported. Greening textile and garment production chains is currently a global trend that are compulsory for businesses to achieve sustainability. It is also a requirement placed on manufacturers as the EU, which imports over 4 billion USD worth of textiles and garments from Vietnam annually, has proposed the imposition of some eco-regulations on imports.
Major fashion brands in the world are also prioritising green enterprises to place their orders or requesting suppliers to adopt green practices.
Facing challenges and strict requirements from the market, many Vietnamese businesses are making changes towards green manufacturing, including upgrading factories and using recycled fabric and green energy.
Among them, the Hanoi Textile & Garment Joint Stock Corporation (Hanosimex) and the Hansae group of the Republic of Korea are implementing a recycled fabric production project in Vietnam.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic