Fibre2fashion.com, COVID-19, Redacción.
Vietnam’s textile and garment industry witnessed a fall in exports in the first four months of this year due to production-related difficulties arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, the figure fell by 20 per cent compared to that in March, Truong Van Cam, vice chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said.
The country’s textile and apparel industry had never faced negative growth in both imports and exports in this manner, Cam told an online seminar early this week.
The value of
total textile and garment exports in the first four months of this year dropped by 6.6 per cent to $10.64 billion year on year. Meanwhile, the total import value was $6.39 billion, down by 8.76 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Export value reduced by about 6 per cent to $8.27 billion for garment products, 0.3 per cent to $664 million for fabric products, 11.5 per cent to $1.19 billion yarn products and 6 per cent to $354 billion for textile materials, according to a report in a Vietnamese newspaper.
Meanwhile, import value also declined by about 8 per cent to $893 million for cotton, 2.5 per cent to $758 million for yarn products, 11 per cent to $3.63 billion for fabric products and 5.8 per cent to $1.11 billion for textile materials.
The reduction reflects the lack of export orders, said Cam, adding that the figures are projected to drop further in May and June because most export orders for those months have also been cancelled.
Many enterprises in the industry have bad debts, he said. Many export garment enterprises are operating at reduced capacity because they do not have new orders.
The export value of face masks was $63 million from January 1 to April 19—too small compared to the total export value of textile and garment at $10 billion in the first four months of the year, according to VITAS.
In the most positive scenario, textile and garment export value in the country will reach about $35 billion this year, down 10 per cent year on year. In a realistic scenario, the export value is estimated to reach about $33.5 billion. In a bad situation, the export value will only reach $30-31 billion in 2020.
