Garment exports to US back on track

Vietnam earned 2.7 billion USD from exporting garments to the US in the first half of this year, an annual increase of 15 percent, after dropping last year.

According to the Vietnam Textiles and Apparel Association (VITAS), garments are Vietnam ’s major export staple and account for the largest proportion of the country’s total export value to the US , with 43 percent in the 2005-2009 period.

So far this year, garment exports to the US have made up 57 percent of the sector’s total export value.

Clothing made in Vietnam is becoming more popular with US consumers. The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has also reported that Vietnam is one of the Asian countries able to compete with China in the area.

The US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel chooses Vietnam second after China when seeking garments from Asia .

VITAS has forecasted that the US will continue to be Vietnam’s leading export market for garments, with an estimated export value of 5.9 billion USD, accounting for 56 percent of the sector’s total export value.

However being second amongst the garment exporters to the US, the value of Vietnam’s textiles exports accounts for only six percent out of the total 100 billion USD that the US market imports every year, according to VITAS.

To improve the situation, VITAS has recommended that businesses pay more attention to increasing the value of their products, restrict outsourcing, strengthen ties with US importers and advertise their products more widely.

Vietnam will now attend the world’s largest garments and textiles fair, called Magic, which is held in Las Vegas every February and August.

In mid-August, a delegation of 20 Vietnamese garments enterprises is scheduled to attend the fair and make a fact-finding tour of the US market.

Tags: Vietnam garment exports, Vietnam Garment industry