Vietnam garment exports to US reach US$9.98bn in 11 months of 2015

Vietnam’s textile and garment exports to the US from January to November 2015 have reached US$9.98 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.7 percent. It is expected to gain much higher with the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) taking effect. According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), during the 11 months, Vietnam’s textile and garment export value to its other major export markets was also optimistic with $3.09 billion to the EU, $2.53 billion to Japan and $1.98 billion to South Korea.

Luong Hoang Thai, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department and the deputy head of Viet Nam’s negotiator delegation at the TPP deal, said that the tax value that Vietnamese textile, garment, leather and footwear exporters currently have to pay for the US, is higher than that of other TPP member countries.

The local enterprises must pay a total tax value of $1.17 billion for exporting textile and garment products to the US market.

Therefore, Viet Nam was successful in negotiating with the US to reduce the tariff for Vietnamese textile, garment products from an average rate at 17 percent to zero under commitments of the TPP, Thai said.

To join the zero tariffs, the local exporters must meet origin regulations from material for production under TPP agreement to prevent neighbouring countries from exporting their products to Viet Nam and then shipping to other countries.

The TPP agreement also has flexible mechanisms for Viet Nam in supplying material when Viet Nam does not yet have enough domestic material supply.

The General Department of Customs said that the country’s export value of textile and garment reached $20.6 billion in the first 11 months. Therefore, the local textile and garment industry needs a total export value of $2.4 billion in December to meet the yearly target in textile and garment for this year at $23 billion.

Tran Viet, head of Vinatex’s Legal and General Affairs Department at its press conference on production and business of the group this year held in Ha Noi yesterday said that Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Viet Nam’s largest textile and garment producer, was estimated to achieve a year-on-year export value of 10 per cent to $3.4 billion for this whole year.

However, the group’s pre-tax profit was predicted to reach VND1.35 trillion ($60 million) for this year, similar to the rate in 2014, because depreciation of currencies in some other textile and garment exporting countries such as China, India and Indonesia affected Vinatex’s production and business results in 2015, he said.

This year, the group’s exports to major markets was expected to gain, including a growth rate at 12.95 percent to the US, 5.96 percent to the EU, 7.95 percent to Japan and 8.77 percent to South Korea against 2014.

The growth was due to positive production and business from large Vinatex’s member companies, including Phong Phu Joint Stock Company, Hoa Tho Textile and Garment Joint Stock Corporation, and Viet Tien Garment Corporation, in addition to Garment 10 Corporation and Duc Giang Corporation.

With positive forecasts for domestic garment exports, Vinatex expected next year’s growth of 8 per cent in its total revenue and 10 percent in total export value against 2015.