The total export turnover of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry reached US$14.58 billion in the first six months.

The industry’s high growth has been attributed to the export of fibres (reaching US$1.69 billion, an increase of 27.4% compared to the same period last year).

According to General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Le Tien Truong, the significant growth is due to the remarkable efforts of the textile and garment industry amidst the unstable economic situation caused by low growth and decline in import growth experienced in major markets such as the US, EU and Japan in the first half of this year.

Vietnam’s export turnovers of textile and garment products to the US, EU and Japan were estimated at US$6 billion, up nearly 9%; US$2.3 billion, up 8%; and US$1.5 billion, up 12%, respectively.

When compared with major competitors in the field of textile and garment, including China, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia, Vietnam has the highest growth rate.

Vinatex’s General Director Truong also noted that the growth of Vietnamese textile and garment exports in the first six months is positive but unsustainable due to negative effects brought about by US President Donald Trump’s antitrust policy and the Federal Reserve (Fed)’s decision of increasing interest rates.

Accordingly, Vietnam’s competitors may devalue their currency to support their export activities such as in 2016, resulting in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry being unable to create positive changes such as those experienced in the first half of the year.

The country’s textile and garment exports turnover is estimated to reach US$31.3 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%.

Source: NDO