
APPAREL EXPORTS DOWN, LEATHER FOOTWEAR SHIPMENTS UP
Although the revenue from apparel exports over the period amounted to an estimated US$29.9 billion, up 7.8% year-on-year, the number of orders shipped to foreign countries tumbled, equal to 80% of the figure seen in the same period last year, according to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

TEXTILE AND GARMENTS LIKELY TO HIT $40B IN EXPORTS THIS YEAR
“After a quiet period, the fibre sector has started to prosper. Customers are showing more interest in it while the price has also recovered. We hope the market will correct itself over the next year and return to the highs seen in 2016-17,” Hiếu said.

TEXTILE-GARMENT SECTOR EXPERIENCES HARDSHIP
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued a report, noting that the U.S.-China trade tensions have affected currency exchange rates, resulting in higher prices for goods processed in Vietnam compared with those seen in other countries, such as South Korea and China. Local textile and garment products for export have been negatively affected.

EXPORT EARNINGS FROM COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS OUTPACE APPAREL INDUSTRY
As an indication of Vietnam’s entering the ranks of countries with more industrialized economies, Vietnam’s export earnings from computers, electronic products and their spare parts are now ranked second in revenues, with traditional textiles and garments falling behind to third place.

VIETNAM IMPORTS US$6.6 BILLION IN TEXTILE-GARMENT MATERIALS IN H1
Though the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has been in force for a while, Vietnam has not made much use of the free trade agreement and imported US$6.7 billion worth of materials in the first half of the year.

APPAREL ORDERS FROM IMPORTERS PLUNGE 30%: VITAS
Many experts had forecast that the United States-China trade war would help shift orders from China to Vietnam. In addition, Vietnam has participated in multiple new-generation free trade agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which are highly expected to help boost local exports.

GARMENT AND FOOTWEAR FIRMS WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR EVFTA BENEFITS
This means for the first few years of EVFTA's implementation, most local garment and footwear products will not benefit from the EVFTA because MFN rates for those products are higher than GSP rates of 9 per cent for garment products and 3-4 per cent for footwear products at present.

VN APPAREL INDUSTRY SUFFERS DUE TO LACK OF COMPETITIVE DYEING, FABRIC SEGMENTS
Nguyễn Văn Tuấn, chairman of the Việt Nam Cotton and Spinning Association, told Thời Báo Kinh Doanh (Business Times) newspaper that while the yarn and apparel segments had grown strongly, others like dyeing were poorly developed, causing a bottleneck.