Vietnam textile and garment industry focuses become the next hotspot

Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is one of the largest economic sectors in the country, consisting 4,000 enterprises with a turnover of US$20 billion a year, accounting for 15% of. According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, textile and garment products are exported to 180 countries and territories in the world. In 2015, textile and garment industry is aiming at total exports of $28.5 billion.

The textile industry has been witnessing a steady growth over the recent years and pushing the country to become one of the top textile exporters in the world.

In value terms, Vietnamese textile and garment sector is likely to double the size of production in next ten years. The industry has set a long term export target in the range US$20 billion-US$22 billion for 2020, and $55 billion by 2030. It aims to achieve this leap forward by concentration on a strategy of specialization and modernization and an increase in added value.

So far U.S. is the largest market for Vietnam’s textile and garment exports, and Vietnam is the second largest textile and garment exporter for the US market behind China. The EU is the second-largest importer of Vietnam’s textile and garment exports, and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS) is optimistic that a pending FTA with the European Union will be a boost for Vietnam’s industry. Other major importers include Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Vietnam aims to establish a free trade area for the Asia Pacific region, so far it has benefited from several free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, ASEAN China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), FTAs with Australia and New Zealand, India, Japan and South Korea, and Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

In 2013, Vietnam joined China, India, Turkey and Bangladesh to become the world’s top 5 textile export countries with total textile and garment export value surpassing $22 billion. The export growth continued in 2014 with nearly 16% increase reaching $24.5 billion. It’s garment exports achieved impressive growth in major markets registering a growth of 17% in Europe, 12.5% in the US, and 9% in Japan.