Garment sector applies advanced technology to increase labour productivity (Photo: VietnamPlus). Hanoi (VNA) - 2023 was the most difficult year in more than three decades of exporting for the textile and garment industry, excluding 2020 when the whole world closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Le Tien Truong, vice chairman of the board of directors of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group.
Last year, the industry faced many challenges due to the impact of the world and domestic economic situation, of which inflation in key markets such as the US and Europe caused a decrease in the purchasing power.
The sector’s turnover declined by 10%, while unit production costs dropped by 30%, and some product codes fell by up to 50%.
These business results from 2023 also partly speak to the difficulties of operators and workers to be able to maintain efficiency in production and business activities, Truong said.
Last year, the export revenue was estimated to top 40 billion USD, down 9.2% year-on-year. Notably, in the year, Vietnamese textile and garment products entered 104 countries and territories – a record number.
According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), the US remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese textile and apparel products with a turnover of over 11 billion USD by the end of September. It was followed by Japan with about 3 billion USD, the Republic of Korea 2.43 billion USD, and the EU 2.9 billion USD.
Garment 10 Joint Stock Company workers (Photo: VietnamPlus) Among the key markets, Vietnam’s exports to the EU failed to meet expectations with nine-month revenue dropping 13%.
This year is predicted to remain difficult for textile and garment businesses.
According to experts, expanding customer bases and diversifying products are necessary solutions to maintain production and grow businesses.
Based on the lessons learned last year, the industry should focus on sustainable development, coupled with the requirements of the global market for sustainable textiles and garments.
At the same time, businesses should promote investment in technology and automation in production lines to ensure fast delivery schedules, small product batches but high product quality, said experts.
This will certainly be one of the strategic changes for garment businesses as large, specialised orders will become fewer and fewer, as well as focusing on solutions for the fashion industry.
In the context of fierce competition among the textile and garment producing countries as aggregate demand declines, Vietnam still stands out as a bright spot in the region with political stability, high production capacity, skilled workers, and good remuneration policies to retain employees.
VITAS has set a target of earning 44 billion USD from textile and apparel exports in 2024 (Photo: VietnamPlus) Than Duc Viet, general director of Garment 10 Joint Stock Company (Garco 10), said that the world and Vietnamese economies were forecast to still have many difficulties and challenges, and the world economic growth would still depend on many unpredictable factors this year.
The textile industry would face a series of difficulties from applying the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) mechanisms as well as the "sustainable fashion" strategy instead of "fast fashion".
Orders were expected to continue to decrease, as the trend would be small quantities, fast delivery times, risky supply chains, and high-cost inputs
VITAS has set a target of earning 44 billion USD from textile and apparel exports in 2024./.
