The Vietnam Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex) held a meeting in Hanoi on January 10 to review its activities in 2007 and devise plans for 2008.

Vinatex general director Vu Duc Giang said the sector earned US$7.78 billion from exports in 2007, up 34.5 percent compared to 2006 and accounting for 19 percent of the country’s total export value. Vietnamese garment and textile products are mainly exported to the US (accounting for 54 percent), the EU (15 percent), Japan (12 percent) and other markets (19 percent). This was the first year the sector’s rate of return hit a record high of US$556 billion.

In 2007, the sector successfully organised numerous international fashion fairs and exhibitions, and expanded its Vinatex Mart distribution network in 18 provinces and cities.

However, the group’s average growth rate was lower than the sector (11.7 percent and 34.5 percent, respectively). Cotton production just met 2.5-3 percent the sector’s demand. Trademark development and human resource training lacked professionalism.

In 2008, Vinatext will diversify business activities, focusing on three fields of finance, infrastructure in industrial zones and real estate, and retail and supermarket networks.

Le Quoc An, president of the Vinatex board of director, said that Vietnamese garment and textile businesses will compete fiercely with their rivals from China, India and Bangladesh in expanding export markets and in improving the quality of products. Another difficulty facing the sector is that prices of input materials are increasing constantly while prices of output products are going up slowly. In addition, the US supervision of Vietnamese garment and textile products in 2008 will be an obstacle to the sector. Therefore, to fulfill the target of US$9.5 billion in export value, the sector will accelerate supporting material and cotton production plans, diversify products, focus on high value products and minimise the negative affects of the US supervision mechanism.

At the meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang emphasised that the sector should further strengthen trade promotion and be active in coping with supervision mechanisms and anti-dumping measures by importing countries. Garments will take centre stage when Vietnam enters into negotiation with Japan on signing a trade and economic comprehensive co-operation agreement.

Mr Hoang urged the sector to devise effective measures to fulfill the growth target of 20 percent.(VOV)