Garments remain nation’s top export

Garments have maintained their number one position on the list of Vietnam’s key export items, recording a turnover of over 4.8 billion USD in the first six months of this year, up 17 percent over the same period last year.
Garments have maintained their number one position on the list of Vietnam’s key export items, recording a turnover of over 4.8 billion USD in the first six months of this year, up 17 percent over the same period last year.

The figures indicate that Vietnamese garments have gained the trust of consumers overseas as they hold a market share of 2.7 percent in the world.

The US is still Vietnam’s largest export market with a turnover of over 2.2 billion USD in the first five months of this year, 24 percent higher than the same period in 2009. It is followed by Japan with a growth rate of about 12 percent. Vietnam ’s market share in the US is 7.4 percent and in Japan 4 percent, making Vietnam second in these markets only after China .

Besides these well established markets, Vietnamese has seen a significant increase in its exports to many new markets such as Taiwan, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN members.

According to Le Quoc An, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), Vietnamese businesses have seen a strong increase in the number of orders compared to last year and export prices have risen by nearly 10 percent against 2009. Vitas forecasts that it is likely to reach its target of 10.5 billion USD in export revenues this year.

Apart from promoting their exports, Vietnamese garments are more popular than ever in the domestic market after many companies have linked up with supermarket chains, expanded their wholesale and retail distribution networks and started to sell goods in rural areas, he added.

To enhance the competitive capacity of its exports, An said that Vitas is now growing cotton on an industrial scale and is also building two industrial parks that specialise in textiles and dyes, one in the northern province of Thai Binh and the other in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh./.

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