TEXTILE & GARMENT 

Viet Nam textile and apparel industry is one of VN's key export sectors, with the growth rate of 20% per year, textile and apparel industry's export turnover accounts for about 15% of the whole country's total export turnover. But at present it closes with the entire dependence upon foreign countries: 70% of Viet Nam textile and apparel industry's materials and accessories have to import. The brought back value from textile and apparel is very low, because Viet Nam textile and apparel are mainly on doing outsourcing processings for foreign importers.

Rising imports

According to the statistics, in July the import turnover of  textile and apparel's materials and accessories, including natural raw cotton, yarn, synthetic staple fibre have increased by  32% compared to the same period of the year 2006, attained above 200 million USD. In June it attained 250 million USD, increased by 42.9% compared to the similar period of last year. In general calculation for seven months of the beginning of the year, the textile apparel material and accessories imports hit approximately 1.3 billion USD, increased by around 15% as compared with the same period of the year 2006.

Presently, the requirement for imported materials in order to assure production inputs to need 95% of natural raw cotton, 70% of synthetic yarn and filament, 40% of synthetic short staple fibre, 40% of knitted fabrics and 60% of woven fabrics. Through which, people can see that the whole textile and apparel industry closes with the entire dependence upon foreign countries. In order to get the production stabilised, it seems that almost  textile and apparel companies have to accept to do outsourcing processings for abroad trade partners, even with low profits.

Because when doing outsourcing processings, their partners would provide in time and sufficiently with material and accessories. In contrary, on FOB-type production (ascertainably straight purchase, definite sale), profits higher, but in compensation,  they have to self - seek sources of providing material and accessories through imports.

Abundant commodities but low qualities

According to the Association for Garment, Textile - Embroidery and Knitting, Viet Nam textile and apparel industry could only satisfy  30% of material and acccessories requirement and this point does not have the same meaning with the weakness of its industrial capability, or not availability of sufficient capacity to manufacture.

Principally,  local accessories would be able to meet sufficiently  and local materials could meet up to 70% of production requirement; but due to a higher requirement toward finished products by concerned foreign trade partners, Vietnamese material and accessories are not able to meet such requirement yet, indispensably imports shoud be done  from overseas . Viet Nam presently has no professional designer teams for various kinds of fabrics materials.

All countries have to import material and accessories, including China because the requirements in the world are greatly diversified, one people cannot satisfy the whole things at one time. The problem is to concentrate internal forces to develop deeply, vigorously, with having orientation on a certain types of specific materials , so that they would become main supply sources for the world market.

In order to push Viet Nam textile and apparel industry to become more and more calibre in the world's view, sufficiently vigorous to have an appropriate position in equitable  co-operation, aimed at being able to buy commodities with the most reasonable prices, it is necessary to quickly build a textile apparel material and accessories center. Instead of concentrated building up of  textile factories,  it would be better recommended to invest into the textile product designing process, creating particular brand names for Vietnamese textiles in the world. In addition, the Government would need to have incentive mechanism  for foreign textile enterprises to invest into Viet Nam in order to help Viet Nam textiles to approach the world's modern technology.

A textile and apparel material and accessories center is very necessary. However,  this center should be set up, managed by the State in order to be able to control in this current sensitive period. 

Source: Vinatex (2007)