After several months of decline, textile and garment exports have shown signs of improvement with the narrowing decline and the growing attention of international buyers for Vietnam’s textile and garment industry at a wide range of recent fairs and exhibitions.
Most recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting (AGTEK) held a ceremony to celebrate its 30th anniversary of establishment. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of AGTEK, said that since the beginning of 2023, the textile and garment industry has faced many difficulties due to a steep decline in export orders and shrinking consumption in the local market.
However, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the industry has shown signs of improvement as demand recovers in both the local and export markets.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Liem, Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Ho Chi Minh City chapter, said that there have been some signs of recovery and development opportunities for the textile and garment industry.
Over the past time, Vietnamese textile and garment firms have actively participated in domestic and international trade promotion activities.
It was noted that at these fairs and exhibitions, partners from the US, Europe, Northeast Asia, and Southeast Asia have come to explore Vietnamese textile and garment products, which tend to increase rapidly compared to previous months. This has laid the foundation for the recovery of textile and garment export orders in the near future.
Besides the effectiveness of reaching clients, participation in fairs and exhibitions also presents businesses with the opportunity to meet raw material suppliers to diversify their supply sources, as well as other machinery and equipment suppliers to upgrade and invest in production lines to fulfill new market requirements.
According to Mr. Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), Vietnam’s textile and garment industry has five major export markets. Among them, the US is the largest market, accounting for 44 – 46% of Vietnam’s total textile and garment exports. It is followed by the EU, Japan, South Korea, and China.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s garment and textile products have been exported to 77 markets and territories, with about 68 items of all kinds.
As well as, Mr. Liem had high expectations of the potential of textile and garment exports to the US after US President Joe Biden’s state visit to Vietnam. The upgrade of bilateral relations between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership is a good opportunity for exports of goods in general and textile and garment items in particular. To take advantage of the opportunities in the coming time, the textile and garment industry should focus on improving labor productivity, increasing product value, taking initiative and creativity in finding sources of raw materials, and expanding partnerships, customers, and markets.
Comment