AsemconnectVietnam - Despite the strong fluctuations in the global market and many pressures, the Vietnamese textile and garment industry still maintains its position in the Top 3 in the world, aiming for 46 billion USD in exports and 21 billion USD in trade surplus in 2025 thanks to proactiveness, technological innovation and quality improvement.

Strength from internal strength and stability
The picture of the textile and garment industry in 2025 shared by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) shows many interwoven colors, but the most prominent is the stability and resilience of the entire industry. The export turnover is estimated to reach 46 billion USD, an increase of 5.6% compared to 2024; trade surplus reaches 21 billion USD - one of the highest levels, continuing to affirm its pivotal role in the national trade balance.
The domestic value added ratio reached about 52%, reflecting the efforts of domestic enterprises to be self-sufficient in raw materials. Currently, Vietnamese textile and garment products are present in 138 markets. The United States is still the main market with an expected turnover of 18.6 billion USD, an increase of 11.75%. In the whole industry, clothing is still the leading product group with about 38 billion USD in the total turnover of 46 billion USD.
Vice President and General Secretary of VITAS Truong Van Cam emphasized: with these results, Vietnam continues to maintain its third position in the world in textile and garment exports, just behind China and Bangladesh. However, Vietnam does not choose the direction of chasing quantity but focuses on building class and quality, taking political and macroeconomic stability as the foundation.
In fact, even though there are times when brands shift orders to cheaper markets, they still return to Vietnam thanks to their trust in quality and delivery progress.
Positive signals from orders also show a strong recovery. Many Vietnamese businesses have full orders until the end of the first quarter of 2026 and are negotiating for the second quarter of 2026, creating a foundation for growth for 2025 and the next period.
However, the industry also faces many pressures. The turnover of 46 billion USD is still lower than the initial target of 48 billion USD due to fluctuations from US tax policies and US-China trade tensions. The fiber product line that used to be exported to China with a value of 4-8 billion USD/year is being affected by regulations related to Xinjiang cotton, forcing the supply chain to restructure.
In addition, global purchasing power is decreasing, consumers are tightening spending, and green fashion trends are increasing cost pressure and technical requirements. Enterprises also have to face the problem of increasing input costs, from electricity, water, transportation to the basic salary expected to increase by 7.2% from the beginning of 2026. The payment method switching from L/C to T/T with deferred payment continues to cause difficulties for cash flow.
Technological innovation, aiming for high value chains
To maintain the position in the Top 3 and aim for the target of 66 billion USD by 2030, the Vietnamese textile and garment industry is implementing a strategy of extensive transformation in technology, management and supply.
VITAS Chairman Vu Duc Giang said: the strong change of textile and garment factories in Vietnam with the appearance of transport robots, automatic cutting systems and production models applying smart management software. "A transport robot can replace 5-6 workers, a worker can operate 3 machines instead of one. This is an important step to increase productivity and reduce costs," he said.
Along with technology, the industry has identified a “three-pillar” strategy: diversifying markets and customers to reduce risks; comprehensively digitizing governance to improve transparency and control costs; strengthening links within associations to share effective management models.
Raw material supply is still a major bottleneck that needs to be resolved. The rate of utilizing CPTPP incentives has only reached 20-25% due to the “yarn forward” rule, while EVFTA has reached 30-35% thanks to the exception of using fabrics from Korea. VITAS is calling for strong investment in yarn and fabric production projects to create initiative and meet the origin requirements of the new generation FTA.
Businesses are recommended to actively negotiate with brands to share arising costs, and at the same time invest in “green” standards, because this is a key factor in maintaining orders in large markets.
With a vision to 2035, the Vietnamese textile and garment industry aims to shift from processing to building a complete fashion industry, developing Vietnamese brands on online and offline platforms.
2026 is expected to be the time to create a major breakthrough, reshaping the position of Vietnamese textile and garment on the world map.
CK
Source: VITIC/ haiquanonline.com.vn