Vietnam Textile Industry Set Export Target In 2009

Bui Xuan Khu, Vice Minister of industry and Commerce in Vietnam, said at a working conference of industrial leaders in August 26th that the export scale of Vietnam's textile and garment industry should be set at 11 billion 500 million US dollars in 2009.

To achieve this goal, the industry must make a breakthrough plan.

He expects textile and clothing prices to rise, which will help industry achieve export targets.

Vietnam's textile and Apparel Group (Vinatex) predicts that Vietnam's exports to Japan will break through because the two countries will sign bilateral trade agreements in September and take effect in 2009.

According to the agreement, Japan will import tariffs on textiles and garments produced from Vietnam or ASEAN raw materials to 10% from zero.

In addition, the US Department of Commerce has confirmed that two surveys of Vietnamese clothing in October 2007 and June 2008 found that Vietnamese clothing had no dumping phenomenon, which is also a favorable sign.

However, the Ministry of Commerce and industry warned that enterprises should closely monitor their exports to the United States. He advised enterprises to diversify their markets while maintaining traditional markets.

According to experts, the textile and garment industry is expected to achieve export target of US $9 billion 500 million this year.

In the first 8 months of this year, exports reached about US $6 billion 40 million, an increase of 20% over the past year. In Vietnam, the textile and garment industry still ranks second in the export of large commodities, second only to crude oil.

During this period, the textile and garment industry saw an increase in exports to all markets, especially in Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina.

Exports to the US decreased slightly, but the United States remained the largest importer of Vietnamese products. The contribution rate of US imports to Vietnam's exports was 57%, followed by the European Union, 18% and Japan accounted for 9%.

According to the Ministry of industry and commerce, due to the good quality of Vietnamese products and timely delivery, Vietnamese exporters received orders this year.