The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) has projected this year’s textile and garment exports would grow 10%, or by US$3 billion, against 2016.

According to Vinatex, the industry’s export sales amounted to US$6.75 billion in the first quarter of 2017, up 12.4% over the same period. Shipments to Russia, a new market for the industry, surged 115% in the period while those to Singapore and Cambodia shot up 38% and 36% respectively.

Revenues from other major markets such as the U.S., the EU, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and South Korea also rose.

Exports of traditional items such as T-shirts and trousers continued positive growth. Some new products with high export growth were swimwear, rainwear and towels.

Vinatex general director Le Tien Truong said Vietnamese textile and garment products are facing growing competition with those from other countries because in addition to quality, price and delivery time, domestic exporters have to meet strict environmental protection requirements.

Therefore, local manufacturers have had to replace old equipment with new one to meet four criteria -- productivity, quality, energy saving and environmental protection.

Vietnam, one of the five largest textile exporters in the world, fetched US$28.3 billion from textile exports in 2016 with a localization rate of over 50%. In 2017, the industry has set an export turnover target of over US$30 billion.

Source: http://english.thesaigontimes.vn