Vietnam’s textile and garment exports is set to fall 15 percent to 34 billion USD this year, the first drop in 25 years, over Covid-19 impacts. With the Covid-19 situation remains serious in the U.S. and some European countries, exports to these markets will continue to face difficulties due to a shortage of orders, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a recent report.
The 15-percent decrease, however, is still lower than the 20-25 percent plunge in global demand this year, it said, adding that domestic companies have been making efforts to pump up revenue by producing lower-added value products to ensure cash flow.
However experts said that the recently-signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is likely to boost China’s demand for garments made in Vietnam.
Japan is another potential market. The East Asian giant requires Vietnamese companies to prove their products are sourced from other ASEAN countries or from Japan to enjoy incentive tariffs while most of Vietnamese products are made from materials imported from China.
Besides, the scrapping of tariffs on many textile and garment exports to the E.U. thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement will push the sector’s growth./.