Green garment ventures seeing red

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Vinatex said several new investment projects faced difficulties as localities have a cautious approach towards textile projects due to environmental concerns.

Deputy director Tran Quoc Van at Hung Yen province’s Department of Planning and Investment said the province welcomed textile and garment projects setting up shop in its specialised industrial zone catering to the textile and garment sector.

Thanh Hoa province Party secretary Mai Van Ninh said the provincial authorities upheld sector development, but they would now focus on attracting sectors with the possibility for generating greater added value.

Like Hung Yen and Thanh Hoa, other localities like southern Dong Nai and Binh Duong were also cautious about textile and garment investors.

Under Vietnam’s textile and garment development planning to 2020, the country will continue expanding the sector scope with an estimated investment reaching VND43 trillion ($2.04 billion) during the period.

The sector figures show that by late 2011, nearly two million labourers worked in the textile and garment industry with incomes averaging VND3 million ($140) per month, tantamount to around VND40 million ($1,900) per year.  The sector’s payroll for these around two million workers will be approximately $4 billion per year, a remarkable figure.

Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam general secretary Hong Sun said Vietnam should continue attracting investment into garment, footwear and leather production, because it would take time for unskilled labourers to shift into hi-tech projects.  

“Hi-tech demands a good infrastructure and quality human resources. When these factors are up to scratch investors will eagerly climb onboard,” said Sun, adding that some well performing hi-tech projects in Vietnam like Intel were struggling to find sufficient human resources.

“With its current status as one of top five countries in [textile garment] export value globally, the sector’s growth momentum would keep on in the next two to three decades,” said Vinatex’s chairman Vu Duc Giang.
 
General director Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen at Garment 10 Joint Stock Corporation, one of Vietnam’s foremost apparel companies, said despite current hostile climate in 2011 the parent company alone reaped VND32.5 billion ($1.5 million) profits, paid VND37 billion ($1.76 million) into social insurance funds, reported $69 million in sales in both export and domestic market and gave jobs to over 9,000 labourers.