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This is the first year the export turnover of the textile and garment industry will decrease after 25 years of continuous growth.Photo: N.Thanh

Exports decreased 15%

According to Mr. Le Tien Truong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemiccaused the supply chain to break and the demand for goods to decline. Lockdown sseriously affected all economic sectors including textiles.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also stated that 2020 is a particularly difficult year for Vietnam's textile and garment industry when the market has many complicated and unpredictable fluctuations.Under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, textiles and garments are one of the industries with the greatest direct losses, along with tourism, aviation and footwear.

Demand slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemicwhen consumers around the world only paid attention to essential goodsand disease prevention, Vietnamese textile and apparel enterprises have faced many difficulties due to a scarcity of orders.

This year is the first time that the export turnover of the textile and garment industry has decreased after 25 years of continuous growth, but Mr. Le Tien Truong affirmed that the decrease in Vietnam's textile and apparel industry is not as large as other countries.

"Especially in the context of a 25% decline in world textile and apparel demand and competing countries are supported by their currencies devaluing against the US dollar, while the Vietnamese currency keeps its value against the USD.The USD makes Vietnam's textile and garment exports more expensive than other countries,”said Vinatex's General Director.

Up to present, the forecast given by the textile industry is that the total export value of the whole year will reach about US$33.5-34 billion, down about 14-15% compared to 2019.

Change the way of doing business

In fact, under the great difficulties from the Covid-19 pandemic, textile enterprises triedto promote the rapid transformation of the structure of traditional products into ones with rapid adaptability such ashigh-class vests andshirts,to workwear, knitwear and traditional shirts to maintain production and business activities.

In the case of Vinatex, Mr. Le Tien Truong stated that in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Group still maintains jobs for the whole system; no employees have to quit.

The average income expected to be realized in 2020 is VND7.95 million / person / month.To achieve this result, enterprises in Vinatex have been flexibly deployed in production organization, ready to receive orders with low added value, focus on research and rapid development of new ordersfor anti-epidemic services.

"For garment products, the output of manufactured products is up to 537 million products, up 200% over the same period last year," Mr. Le Tien Truong said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in the future, textile enterprises need to continue to have new measures to change the mode of production and business to suit the new situation and at the same time exploit and expand the domestic market;actively linking with customers to form production chains to meet the rules of origin as committed by Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

From a business perspective, Mr. Nguyen Duc Tri, Chairman of HoaTho Textile and Garment Joint Stock Corporation, suggested that in the future, the Government should pay more attention to the development of industrial parks with wastewater treatment systems, ensuringenvironmental sanitation so that textile and dyeing enterprises develop, supporting industries focus on developing, attracting workers in neighboring areas such as Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa and Dong Nai.

Regarding the development of the textile and garment industry, giving a speech at a meeting to discuss solutions to difficulties, promoting production and business of Vietnam's textile and garment and footwear industry in the context of international integration as well asthe recent Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucsaid that the textile and garment industry has intensified the application of digital economy, digital technology and approached the world fashion industry;make more effective use of FTAs, develop and expand raw material industry, increase added value.At the same time, attaching importance to the model of textile, garment and dyeing industrial parks.

The Prime Minister also mentioned the issue that localities must pay attention to having modern, environmentally friendly textile and garment industrial parks;focus on green growth, protect the environment, apply the circular economic model.