Textile and garment sector aims to reduce China reliance

June 12, 2014 | 13:55

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The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) just sent a dispatch to businesses in the sector requiring them to supply data on their textile and garment materials and accessories, fibres, yarns, fabrics and dyes imported from China during 2013-2014.

“Based on the figures provided by firms, Vitas will have up-to-date figures on the types of materials and accessories imported from China, and will from there devise plans for investment and development of supply sources from the domestic market as well as sourcing output market distribution,” said Vitas deputy chairwoman Dang Phuong Dung.

Priority substitute markets for Vietnamese textile and garment firms to source materials are Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia and India, Dung added.

In the Ministry of Trade’s most recent periodical meeting reviewing the situation in May and the first five months, regarding measures to reduce imports from China, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said investing in domestic material production would be most sustainable for sectoral development.

In fact, domestic supply of fabrics has increased in recent years, but the production cost is still pricey and mostly higher than that of imported products.

Chairman of Garmex Saigon Le Quang Hung said the company had yet to find another market to supersede China in terms of price, after it conducted surveys in a number of regional countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Last year, total import value of the textile and garment sector came to $13 billion. Of this, approximately $6 billion came from the Chinese market alone.

The import value of cotton, fibre, fabrics, and accessories in the first five months of 2014 was estimated at $5.7 billion, with more than half coming from China.

By By Hai Yen

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