Garment exports a right fit

Traditional markets have a healthy appetite for Vietnam’s garment exports

The industry would look to earn between $13.1-13.2 billion from overseas shipments of garment and textile products this year, compared to the record $11.17 billion in revenue achieved in 2010, said Dang Phuong Dung, general secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (Vitas).

“We enjoyed impressive exports during 2010 with expansion in both volume and value in our traditional markets in the United States, European Union and Japan. We have predicted a more eventful year in 2011 with shipments to those markets and also other new potential markets as well,” Dung said.

In 2010, Vietnam gained a 23.2 per cent on-year in garment and textile export revenue to more than $11 billion, which was also higher than the country’s original target of $10.5 billion for 2010.

The US continued to be the biggest export market for Vietnamese firms with shipments rising by 22 per cent to over $6 billion, representing 55 per cent of the country’s overall garment and textile export.

Vietnam also grew to become the fourth biggest garment and textile exporter to the US market last year with 5.1 per cent of the US market share, up from 4.6 per cent in 2009.

The EU ranked as the second biggest garment and textile importer of the Vietnamese products, which saw a 14 per cent growth to $1.8 billion worth of imports from Vietnam last year.

The union was followed by the Japanese buyers, who increased spending by 20 per cent on-year to $1.2 billion on the Vietnamese garment and textile products, which were beneficial from the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement taking effective from early 2010.

Dung said the Japanese market’s potential for Vietnamese products would continue to be explored and grasped by enterprises in Vietnam this year.

Dung said the industry, particularly the state-run Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, was looking to set up its own industrial parks to call for investors, particularly foreign investors, in the fabric weaving and dying industry to supply locally-made materials for export-oriented garment manufacturing enterprises.

“The activities in this area will be promoted this year to help ease the country’s heavy reliance on overseas raw materials and particularly prices, which is predicted to keep growing.

“It will also help increase capability and competitiveness and particularly added-value for Vietnam’s garment and textile industry,” she noted.

Vietnam last year spent $7.2 billion on imported fabric, fibre and cotton used for export-oriented and local-used garment and textile industry. Of that, imports of cotton cost $664 million in 2010, more than double the previous year’s figure. The import of fibre and fabric cost $1.16 billion and $5.37 billion respectively, up 43.5 and 27.2 per cent on-year.

The country also spent some $2.6 billion on foreign-made accessories for both local garment and footwear manufacturing sectors last year, 36 per cent higher than 2009.