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Local textiles gain more scope
Viet Nam should enhance co-operation between domestic material providers and clothing producers in order to make the domestic garment industry more competitive in the future, experts said.
The domestic garment industry comprises 3,000 enterprises and has been experiencing export growth for many consecutive years, according to Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (VnEconomy), which reported the statements by Dang Phuong Dung at a seminar held early this week in HCM City.
Dung, deputy chairwoman and general secretary of the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said that the export value of garments showed a year-on-year increase of US$500 million to $11.7 billion for the third quarter of this year.
That figure is expected to reach $13-13.5 billion for the whole year.
However, she noted that added value for Vietnamese garments is not high because 60 per cent of domestic enterprises are processors and must import raw materials for their production.
The garment industry currently procured only 45 per cent of its material from within Viet Nam, she said, emphasising that enterprises must make a concerted effort to draw on local sources in order to push up the added value of their products.
Failing to make this transition would cause the industry to further lose its competitive edge at a time when companies are already struggling with the problems of high wages, low-quality materials, and poor marketing and design.
Le Quoc An, VITAS Chairman, said wages for industry workers had risen rapidly in recent years to a standard rate of $200 per month. He predicted that this figure could become $500 per month within the next three to five years.
An said the pay hikes may threaten the existence of some enterprises, which have to adjust by finding creative ways to save money and time.
The steps of cutting and sewing clothes accounted for only 6 per cent of the garment production process, according to Andrew Hong, acting general secretary of the ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries (AFTEX).
The remaining 94 per cent encompassed cloth production, design, marketing, sample production and order confirmation.
As of now, no ASEAN country has the capacity to complete the entire process domestically, Hong said. Currently Indonesia has an advantage in textile and garment production, since both Thailand and Viet Nam lack materials for processing.
Hong proposed that now is the time to change the production model in Viet Nam in order to improve the added value of the garment industry.
Industry representatives should try to enhance communication between cloth producers, garment enterprises and consumers, he said.
Companies could facilitate this process by joining the regional supply chain via the Source ASEAN Full Service Alliance (SAFSA) programme.
SAFSA forges virtual vertical factory partnerships between independent ASEAN-based textile mills and garment factories.
An said the SAFSA programme was suitable for countries, like Viet Nam, that export to places that prioritise materials from ASEAN nations.
The most important point, he stressed, was that the programme would lead to sustainable development for the domestic textile and garment industry.
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