Seeking new markets is key to boosting consumption of local garment
products, said policy-makers and experts at a seminar to discuss ways of
boosting the sector.
The seminar on solutions to access
resources and expand the garment business globally is co-hosted by the
Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) and Vietinbank with
Dun&Bradstreert (D&B) on Aug. 9 in Hanoi .
At
the seminar, leading experts in the field of garments and textiles and
trade and exports shared experiences and outlined the potential and
limits of the local garment and textile industry and solutions to find
new customers.
They also looked at ways to attract
potential customers in traditional markets and handling current
difficulties for exporters.
Slow domestic consumption has been attributed to the global economic crisis.
Over the last seven months, Vietnam 's garment and textile exports
reached 9.3 billion USD, maintaining an annual growth rate of 7-8
percent. This is viewed as modest compared to the country's export
growth of 22 percent.
Dang Phuong Dung, deputy chairwoman
and general secretary of Vitas, said the major export markets were
the US , the EU, Japan and the Republic of Korea . Exports to
South Korea alone had grown following the signing of the bilateral Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) with some of the ASEAN nations, including
Vietnam .
Looking back at 2011, inflation is low and
exports orders remained high, but in 2012, the US has faced ongoing
public debt and unemployment that has affected consumers.
The US and the EU market have seen low growth, and the eurozone
crisis has also had a significant effect on garment exporters.
The first solution to accelerate consumption of garment products is to
seek new markets. Apart from traditional markets, domestic exporters
need to expand their markets.
In addition, trade promotion needs to be enhanced to establish new partners, said Dung.
Also speaking at the seminar, Nguyen Thi Khanh Phuong of Vietinbank
said her bank will help its customers access capital through export
support programmes from different countries.
Vietinbank
will also help garment exporters to balance their forex demand between
members of the garment and textile sector to minimise the reliance on
foreign currencies while ensuring payment ability and avoiding exchange
rate risks.-VNA