1000 years of thang long

Free trade agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam has signed and is going to sign have helped local firms diversity their export markets, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Vu Duc Giang.

He said Vietnam is exporting garment-textiles to the US, the European Union (EU), Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Apart from those traditional markets, Vietnamese firms are pushing exports to new markets such as China and Russia, with export turnover projected to exceed 2 billion USD and about 500 million USD in 2018 in each of the countries respectively.

Most domestic garment-textile businesses have received orders for the second and third quarters of 2018, he added.

The garment-textile sector has exported more than 3 billion USD worth of yarn, nearly one billion USD worth of fabric and 400 million USD worth of garment accessories.

Particularly, the fourth industrial revolution has changed the mindset of businesses in regards to technology investment, Giang said.

Garment-textile companies have paid more attention to developing human resources and using technology to create quality products. 

The selection of high value production segments helps such as Original Design Manufacturing and Own Brand Manufacturing has helped Vietnam continue making differences in the global market, he said.

In addition to investment in new technology, some big enterprises such as Phong Phu Joint Stock Company and Garment-10 Joint Stock Company are seeking to export through online sales.

This is considered a cheap and quick way to send products to customers in foreign countries, according to Doan Anh Dao, a marketing and sales representative from Phong Phu Joint Stock Company.

In 2017, the garment-textile sector raked in 31.2 billion USD from exports, a year-on-year rise of 10.23 percent.

In the year, Vietnam’s garment-textile exports to major markets like the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Russia increased by 7.2 percent, 9.23 percent, 6.1 percent, 11.8 percent and 56 percent, respectively. 

In the first quarter of 2018, the sector is expected to see export growth of nearly 7 percent. It targets 35 billion USD in export turnover by the end of this year.-VNA