Garment-textile export turnover reached nearly 8 billion USD in the first quarter of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 13.3 percent (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Garment-textile exportturnover reached nearly 8 billion USD in the first quarter of 2018, ayear-on-year rise of 13.3 percent.
This is considered a good start for the industryto realise its export target of 35 billion USD by the end of this year.
President of the HCM City Association ofGarment and Textile Pham Xuan Hong said the sector has brightprospects this year.
Garment-textile exports in 2018 are anticipatedto be better than in 2017 with the maintenance of two-digit growth.
Chairman of the Directors Board of Hung YenGarment Corporate Nguyen Xuan Duong said the number of orders is likely tostrongly increase this year, especially for large-scale businesses.
Most domestic enterprises have orders until thesecond of quarter of 2018. Some have even received orders for the third quarter,he said.
According to Chairman of the Vietnam Textile andApparel Association Vu Duc Giang, Vietnamese garment-textile businesses cancompete in the region thanks to the sharpened skills of workers, improvedproductivity and better quality of products.
Domestic enterprises have also invested in newtechnology to increase productivity and competitiveness, he said.
Free trade agreements not only help the garment-textilesector diversify export markets but also reduce imports of material, he said,adding that currently Vietnam exports more than 3 billion USD worth of yarn, nearlyone billion USD worth of fabric and 400 million USD worth of garmentaccessories each year.
Industry 4.0 has changed the mindset ofbusinesses in regards to technology investment, Giang said, noting thatbusinesses are looking to high value production segments such as OriginalDesign Manufacturing and Own Brand Manufacturing.
Garment-textile companies also focus on thedevelopment of human resources and cutting edge technology, he said.
Some big enterprises such as Phong Phu JointStock Company and Garment-10 Joint Stock Company are seeking to export throughonline sales, he added.
However, the Vietnam Textile & ApparelAssociation has warned businesses of numerous challenges, including fiercercompetition from other countries like China, Myanmar and Cambodia.
The association advised enterprises to improveskills of workers and reform management methods to increase productivity.
Apart from maintaining and developing exports tokey markets such as the US, EU, Japan and the Republic of Korea, businessesshould expand to other markets such as the Association of Southeast AsianNations, Eurasian Economic Union, India and Latin American countries.-VNA
VNA
