[26-07-2010] HCMC ?The country’s garment and textile industry expects to obtain total export revenue of US$5.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17%, said Le Quoc An, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas).An told the Daily on Sunday that the exportation of garment and textile products had been recovering this month, with revenue forecast to amount to US$1 billion.

“The country’s garment and textile export to Korea has recorded the highest year-on-year increase, at 80%, this year thanks to reciprocal tax cuts by ASEAN countries and Korea,?An said. “Garment export to the U.S. has also grown 23%, Japan 15%, European markets 1.5% and other ASEAN countries 30%.?

With the stable increase in garment and textile export revenue in July, An said he expected the country to reach its target of US$10.5 billion by the year-end, up nearly 12%.

According to Vitas, though the production of domestic garment and textile producers is recovering, the current labor shortage facing the sector has affected their production plans from now to the end of this year.

Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of the HCMC Textile-Garment-Apparel Association which has some 200 members, said almost all members of his association had already signed contracts with foreign clients and would fulfill them by the end of this year. Some have even secured orders for early next year, he said.

He told the Daily on Sunday that the biggest difficulty faced by the association’s members was a severe shortage of workers to ensure timely delivery. “Most of us lack about 10% of workers needed for our current needs,?he said.

Hong said many foreign-owned garment companies in the city promised a pay raise so as to recruit enough workers, but after employment, they lowered the wages.

“This recruitment trick has impacted on both workers and production activity of the industry,?said Hong, who is also general director of the HCMC-based Saigon 3 Garment Joint Stock Company in Tan Binh District.

Saigon 3 has attained total export revenue of US$35 million in the year to date, up about 8% year-on-year, he said, and the company is looking to some US$75 million for all of this year.

To help increase salaries for garment and textile workers and offset rising production costs, Hong said, the association has encouraged its members to negotiate with their foreign clients over a 10% hike in contract prices.

Source:The Saigon Times Daily