Việt Nam’s garment and textile industry needs to develop a closed-loop supply chain with a focus on obtaining self-sufficiency in raw materials in order to meet the rules of origin under the UK – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) for expanding exports to this market.
The garment and textile sector is doing well in taking advantage of 17 active free trade agreements (FTAs), including new generation trade deals such as the UKVFTA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU – Việt Nam FTA (EVFTA), according to Vũ Đức Giang, chairman of the Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas).
However, there remains largely untapped potential.
The sector is poised to earn US$44 billion from exports this year, an increase of nearly 11.3 per cent over last year – an impressive result in a world with complicated and unpredictable developments including escalating conflicts, volatile oil prices and transportation costs, and slow global trade recovery, he said. The industry has set a goal of exporting up to $48 billion worth of products in 2025.
Aside from taking advantage of FTAs, Việt Nam’s garment industry has effectively capitalised on the shift in export orders away from countries like China and Bangladesh, coupled with efforts to diversify markets and meet import market requirements, Giang said.
Việt Nam’s garment and textile exports to the UK have seen improvements since the UKVFTA took effect in 2021 and have remained stable in the past few months, at $76.7 million in August, $52.5 million in September and $61.9 million in October, customs statistics showed. The country earned more than $622.8 million from garment and textile exports to the UK in the first 10 months of this year.
Still, Việt Nam holds a modest share in the UK’s imported garment and textile market, which was estimated at more than $20 billion per year. Under the trade deal, the UK has removed 42.5 per cent of the tariff lines starting in the beginning of 2021 and will eliminate the remaining tariffs in two, four or six years.
FTA ecosystem required
Ngô Chung Khanh, deputy director of the Multilateral Trade Policies Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, has pointed out five major problems in the garment and textile industry. One is the heavy dependence of imported raw materials, which is hindering the industry from taking further advantage of FTAs.
Another issue is that the industry mainly uses contract manufacturing, coupled with a shortage of capital, a lack of market information and failures in promoting brands for garment products. The latest updates from the General Department of Customs showed that Việt Nam imported $22.82 billion worth of raw materials for the garment, textile and footwear industries in the first 10 months of this year, representing a strong increase of 44.2 per cent over the same period last year. Imported materials were mostly fabric worth a total of $12.27 billion, up 14.7 per cent over the same period last year.
Notably, the raw materials were mainly imported from China, accounting for 51 per cent of imports. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, domestic garment and textile producers are forced to import around 70 per cent of raw materials, as domestic supply sources remain limited and are unable to meet the demand in terms of quality. The heavy dependence on imported raw materials significantly affects the development of the garment and textile industry, especially in meeting rules of origin under FTAs, including the UKVFTA, for sustainable export expansion.
Phạm Xuân Thủy, deputy director of the Tiến Thắng Garment Company in Đà Nẵng Province, said that Vietnamese-made fabric is not only expensive, but also fails to meet the quality requirements of foreign partners. Thus, domestic garment producers rely on imported sources to ensure quality and lower prices. A report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that the rules of origin under the UKVFTA for garments and textile products require two-stage criteria, meaning that the weaving stage and sewing stage for finished products must be carried out in Việt Nam or the UK.
This means that the fabric used for cutting and sewing must originate from Việt Nam or the UK – a significant challenge for the Vietnamese textile and garment industry, because the industry remains dependent on imported raw materials. To make up for this, Việt Nam can take advantage of the accumulation principle regarding the origin of fabric, meaning the country can use fabric from Korea, Japan, the EU or countries that have FTAs with the UK for cutting and sewing in Việt Nam.
However, in the long term, the UKVFTA’s ‘from fabric onwards’ rules of origin combined with the CPTPP’s ‘from yarn onwards’ will require the establishment of a closed production chain, with a focus on ensuring self-sufficiency in raw materials so that the industry can better exploit FTAs, the report said.
According to Khanh, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is enhancing cooperation with relevant ministries, agencies and associations to establish an FTA ecosystem that will create conditions for the garment and textile industry to effectively use FTAs.
“Most importantly, the FTA ecosystem for the garment and textile industry will help connect garment producers with raw material suppliers,” Khanh said.
Deputy Director of Đà Nẵng Department of Industry and Trade Đỗ Thị Quỳnh Trâm said that the FTA ecosystem should be completed early and put into practice with the active participation of enterprises. In the strategy for development of the garment, textile and footwear industry through 2030, one bold solution is to promote the development of the supporting industry for garment production.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that large-scale industrial zones specialising in garment and textile production will be developed, which will facilitate the establishment of a closed-loop supply chain for the industry.
The foundation of a raw material centre for the garment and textile industry should also be accelerated along with measures to ensure its efficient operation, Trương Văn Cẩn, Vitas’ general secretary, said. To expand exports to the UK sustainably, garment producers also need to enhance production capacity and competitiveness by applying technology, automation, digital transformation and green production to meet market requirements.
