It’s expected the business will grow by 14 percent over the next two years anda further 10 percent up to 2030.
Speaking at the 4th Vietnam Textile Summit 2018 held in Hanoi on June 27, Dr. TranDu Lich said he believed the future would be bright.
“Garment and textile is a key economic sector in terms of employment creationand contribution to exports. It creates 20 percent of jobs in Vietnameseindustry,” said Lich.
This sector has the second highest export turnover and occupies the fifthposition in the world. Last year saw goods worth more than 31 billion USD,exported, representing 10.23 percent year-on-year increase.
The rapid growth rate was expected to continue this year with an estimatedturnover of 33 billion USD.
In addition to maintaining traditional markets such as the US, Europe, Japanand the Republic of Korea, Vietnamese garment and textile firms have beenexpanding to new areas such as China, Russia and Cambodia.
It also promotes the development of the cotton fiber industry; petrochemicalindustry and other textile supporting industries as well as trading, services,and fashion industry.
“The textile industry contributes to the success of FDI attraction policy. FDIaccounts for about 60 percent of apparel and textile export turnover,” he saidadding that in the economy industrialisation strategy, the industry played animportant role in the economic structure of Vietnam.
However, he said the Government policies played an important role to helpbusinesses develop. Vietnam’s vocational training policies in the industry hadnot been effective and would need further support.
In addition, the Government should encourage enterprises to mobilise capital onthe stock market. The application of the Decree No 111/ND-CP on supportingindustries should be promoted and be included in research budgets, applicationof new technologies and reduction of corporate income tax.
The Government should also encourage the linking of value chains by supportingsmall and medium enterprises under the Law on the promotion of small-and-mediumsized enterprises (SMEs).
Tran ThanhHai, Deputy Head of the Department of Export and Import under theMinistry of Industry and Trade said new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which Vietnamsigned or negotiated would benefit the country’s garment and textile sector.
“In the 2018-22 period, the export tax of some products would be reduced tozero, creating new opportunities for the country to increase export added valueand promoting the economic growth,” Hai said.
On the other hand, the competitive labour costs and preferential policies wouldcontinue to help Vietnam become one of ideal destinations for investors in thesector.
However, Vietnam should continue to compete to maintain competitiveness withcountries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Sharing the ideas, Ven Tran, Director of Vietnam Office of Weave ServicesLimited said Vietnam had experienced strong growth in textile manufacturing thanksto three key advantages as trade barriers are gradually removed.
In addition, Vietnam ranked second lowest in the regions, after Bangladesh. Itsglobal position made it an ideal choice for investors who want to leave China.
However, there were still three main challenges to sustain this strong growthincluding low productivity, environmental regulation and long lead time, hesaid.
Long lead time means retailers and manufacturers fail to meet customers’expectation and managing raw materials is key to speeding up productivity.Material accounts for a half of total lead time and it can even be 70 percentwhen it comes to overseas supply.
He suggested the solutions were to set up a common language with supply methodswhile factoring in risk.
The event co-organised by ECV International and Vietnam Cotton and SpinningAssociation (VCOSA) aimed to better understand the market, as well as mitigaterisks and identify new opportunities. Meanwhile, the summit can also act as aplatform for exchanges, communication and mutual assistance.-VNS/VNA