Indian firms eye strengthened textile and garment links with Vietnam

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

HCMCity (VNA) – Textile and garment companies of India are looking to promotetrade cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises, said Indian Consul General in HoChi Minh City Smita Pant at a press conference in HCM City on May 10 tointroduce the Textiles India 2017, which is slated for the Vietnamese city fromJune 30-July 2.

Accordingto Smita Pant, textile and garment is one of the leading important industriesthat the two nations need to foster cooperation through promoting trade,attracting investment and increasing export turnover.

Ronak Roughani, Vice President of the Synthetic andRayon Textile ExportPromotion Council (SRTEPC) of Indiasaid apparel occupies a large proportion in India’s exports.

India’s textile and garment industry has developed a complete product supplychain and the country is also one of suppliers of high-quality materials andfabric with competitive price in the world.

The country’s export turnover of textile and garment materials to Vietnam inrecent years averagely increases about 20 percent a year.

This is a good time for Vietnamese and Indian textile and garment firms to enhancelinks in investing, exporting materials and technical assistance for mutualbenefit, he said.

Dang Thi Tuyet Mai, Vice General Secretary of theVietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said Vietnam is one of thefive largest textile and garment exporters in the world, with its textile andgarment export turnover hitting about 28.5 billion USD in 2016.

However, the country is also one of the world’s leading importers of fabric andmaterials. The shortage of high-quality materials for production is the biggestbarrier to Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, hindering the country fromtaking advantages of free trade agreements.

PhamXuan Hong, Chairman of the HCM City Associationof Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting (AGTEK) said Vietnamese textile andgarment firms appreciate the quality and competitive price of materials fromIndia, stressing that cooperating with India businesses is an effective measureto diversify material supply resources for Vietnam.

Vietnamese firms should intensify trade promotion programmes andparticipate in exhibitions and trade promotion events, he suggested, saying thatthese will offer opportunities for them to seek more material suppliers, and learningfrom effective business and production models.

The programmes will also help Indian businesses make deeper inroad into Vietnamesemarket, he said.-VNA