Vietnamese Textiles will Exceed Export Targets

Vietnam Material Market Price reported on November 2: According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of Vietnam, Vietnam exported textile products from January to September to US$13 billion, an increase of 17% year-on-year.

Among Vietnam’s fastest-growing merchandise, textiles are one of the two categories of goods that have exported more than US$10 billion. However, at present, the export of textiles from Vietnam has begun to slow down. The main reason is that the total shortage of international markets at the end of 2012 led to a large increase in import demand in early 2013. Another reason is that the competition between textile export prices in various countries is becoming increasingly severe. For example, the growing wages of Vietnamese workers have affected the competitiveness of Vietnamese textile exports. The average Cambodian worker’s salary is US$50 per person per month, Bangladesh is US$60-70 per person per month, and Vietnam reaches US$250 per person per month. In addition, Vietnamese textile manufacturers also face difficulties in finding and importing raw materials.

However, under the stimulus of the government's policy of encouraging exports, the average industrial output value of textile enterprises in Vietnam has increased by about 15%. Therefore, Vietnam's textile industry in 2013 is likely to exceed its export goal by nearly one billion U.S. dollars. According to the predictions of experts in the textile industry in Vietnam, it is entirely possible that the Vietnamese textile industry will continue to become Vietnam's trade surplus for the second year. Last year, the localization of Vietnam's exports of textiles was only 20%-30%, and this year it has grown to 40%-50%. With the decline in the proportion of imported raw materials, the textile industry will have more opportunities once Vietnam signs the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.