According to recent reports from Vietnamese media, a report from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that Vietnam’s textile exports in the first five months of 2016 were US$8.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of only 6.6%. The full-year export target of US$31 billion is worrying due to reduced orders and falling export prices.
A report from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that Vietnam’s largest export market for textiles is the United States, with an export value of US$3.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6%; exports to the European Union are US$936 million, an increase of 8.2%; exports to Japan are US$845 million, an increase of 1.56% %; exports to South Korea were US$677 million, an increase of 15.23%.
The report stated that many Vietnamese textile companies are currently having difficulty finding new orders, especially orders for shirts, trousers and jackets. Many large textile companies have reported that since the beginning of the year, orders have decreased, export prices have fallen, and production costs have risen instead of falling. Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile Association, said that since the first quarter of 2016, a large number of customer companies have transferred orders to neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar because these countries can enjoy preferential tax rates for exporting textiles to the United States and Europe. The current average tax rate for Vietnam’s textile exports to the United States is 17%, and the EU’s is 10%. The normal situation of zero tariffs enjoyed by the TPP and the free trade area agreement with the EU will not be realized until mid-2018.
In view of the current difficulties of Vietnamese textile enterprises, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Chen Junying has instructed relevant departments to actively take measures to solve difficulties for enterprises. Vietnam’s textile exports grow
