Close to 160 garment and textile enterprises from Vietnam and India gathered at a recent seminar in the northern province of Nam Dinh to share information and seek partnership opportunities.
Speaking at the event, Do Huu Huy, Deputy Head of the Africa, West Africa and South Asia Markets Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, highlighted the importance of diversifying material sources for garment and textile production, saying it contributes to the sustainable development of the sector.
In order to hold 10 percent of the global market share, the industry must meet all origin requirements in the supply chain, especially when the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement is reached, said Pham Quang Thinh from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
Under the agreement, all garment products from the yarn stage forward must be made in one of the countries that is party to the agreement, he said, adding Vietnam now meets half of the local yarn demand.
Therefore, foreign businesses, especially those from India , are taking this advantage to promptly invest in building weaving and dying factories in Vietnam , he said.
Mohit, a representative from the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam , said that India is the second largest producer of garment materials in the world, holding 13.52 percent of the global market share, while Vietnam is one of the world’s largest garment and textile exporters.
This will pave the way for bilateral cooperation in the future, he noted.
India is among Vietnam ’s top ten trade partners, with two-way trade reaching 5.2 billion USD in 2013, an increase of 30 percent over the previous year, and nearly 3.8 billion USD in the first eight months of this year. The two countries are striving to bring bilateral trade to 15 billion USD by 2020.
Last year, Vietnam exported 2.3 billion USD worth of goods to India whereas its imports from the South Asian country topped 2.9 billion USD.
By August 2014, India had 83 investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of over 256 million USD, mainly in manufacturing and mining.-VNA
