Vietnam garment industry positive on US$30bn export target set this year

Vietnamese textile and garment industry are positive on achieving the industry’s export target set at USD$30 billion this year as many companies have received enough orders to stay busy for at least the first half of the year.

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, vice chairman Pham Xuan Hong said that most of its member companies have a smooth start and some have already scored a large number of orders that can keep their factories running through the entire year. Even though it is less than two months in, he is confident that the annual goal is within reach.

The industry shipped $27 billion worth of products in 2015 and aimed to raise that by more than 10 percent to $30 billion this year.

According to official trade data, textile and garment exports increased 5.8 percent in January to $2 billion, compared to the same month last year,

Le Quang Hung, board chairman of Garmex Saigon, which has secured orders for a full year, said that the industry seems to be doing well. But the local companies are not able to bring in big money for themselves, mostly because they are generally doing contract work for international clothing brands instead of selling their own products.

The Vietnamese government needs to offer both financial and technical support to local companies so that they can move up the value chain and gain more from free trade agreements, particularly the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Out of $21.6 billion of export revenues taken home by the garment sector last year, 70 percent went straight to foreign invested companies although they only account for 30 percent of the number of businesses.