VIETRADE – The country’s garment and textile sector would likely to grow an average of 11.5% annually between now and 2020, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) has forecast.
Vitas said the sector was expected to post an export turnover of US$27.5 billion this year. The value would increase to US$31 billion next year and US$45 billion to $50 billion by 2020.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) reported that the sector earned US$19.18 billion from exports in the 11-month period, surging 18% against the corresponding period last year. Exports of fibre rose 19% to US$2.3 billion.
Vitas chairman Vu Duc Giang said that global integration would facilitate exports of Vietnamese garment and textile products over the next five years.
Following the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), tariffs for these products would reduce from 18% to 0% and from an average 11% to 0% under the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
When these pacts took effect, they would accelerate the development of the garment and textile industry in the long run, attracting more investment in the sector while enhancing the value of local products in the global value chain.
Dau Tu Newspaper quoted the American Chamber of Commerce’s forecast as saying that after the TPP came into effect, Vietnam’s exports to the US would likely to reach US$51.4 billion, with garment and textile products alone hitting US$15.2 billion by 2020.
The garment and textile exports to the US, might also reach US$20 billion by 2025, the newspaper noted. The US is now one of the country’s leading importers of Vietnamese garment goods besides the EU, Japan and South Korea.
Vietnam has been among the top 10 garment and textile exporters in the world for the last 10 years. Last year, it ranked the fifth after China, Turkey, Bangladesh and India.
In order to increase its export turnover, in recent years, the local garment and textile sector have paid effective attention to diversifying material supply sources to ease the dependence on foreign source and increase competitiveness, vietnamnews.vn reported.
To date, it had raised the localization rate to more than 50 per cent, the newspaper added.
Mr. Le Tien Truong, General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said the group’s subsidiaries had increased investment in material production, adding that their textile fabric output could meet 60% of domestic demand.
Besides ensuring adequate material resources, Truong also emphasized the importance of building a trademark for the nation’s garment and textile products.
He urged the sector to improve its competitiveness in the global garment supply chain.
Meanwhile, the MoIT suggested domestic garment and textile businesses to seek other material suppliers from ASEAN countries, particularly India, to avoid over-dependence on a single market. /.
By VIET TRADE
29/12/2015