Garment makers need to increase use of technology

Vietnamese garment and textile companies should tie up with foreign firms to benefit from their experience and advanced technologies.

“The garment and textile industry, which has annual export earnings of billions of US dollars, makes up 10 per cent of the country’s GDP, and employs millions of people, is one of the country’s key industries,” Pham Xuan Hong, deputy chairman of the Viet NamTextile and Apparel Association (Vitas), said.

Despite facing many difficulties due to the economic downturn this year, its exports reached US$7.5 billion in the first 10 months of the year, he noted.

With demand recovering in the US and stabilising again in the EU, and orders increasing from Japan, the year’s export target of US$9.5 billion was likely to be achieved, he added.

But despite all this, most raw materials required for apparel manufacture were imported and Vietnamese garment products had little added value, he said.

He urged companies to find ways to increase the local content rate from the current 36 per cent.

He also called on them to increase their focus on product design and improve technologies and quality to meet consumers’ demand at home and broad.

“Using advanced technologies to reduce dependence on human labour is imperative since the sector will otherwise always face a labour shortage,” he said.

Tran Hung, deputy general director of the Department of Light Industry, said exploring new markets and investing in technology and human resource training were important factors for the sector’s development.

French technologies

Also at the conference, executives from members of the French Association of Textile Machinery Manufactures (UCMTF) discussed business opportunities with nearly 100 Vietnamese counterparts.

They introduced the latest technologies in garment and textile manufacture and processing carpet yarn and knitting yarn.

Evelyne Cholet, general secretary of the UCMTF, said the event offered an opportunity for the two sides to develop long-term business partnerships and expand their business.

The event was organised jointly by the Economic Department of French Embassy in Viet Nam, the French Agency for International Business Development, and the UCMTF.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam business news, Vietnam Garment industry