Shifting of orders from China, amidst US-China trade war, hasn’t helped Vietnam much, contrary to what people expected.
This was recently confirmed by Vu Duc Giang, Chairman, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) while talking to media.
The Chairman added that though many experts feel Vietnam has the opportunity to get big orders shifting from China, it’s not actually true. “When global buying falls, producers have to calculate to further reduce the cost of goods,” explained Vu Duc Giang.
Giving credence to the above, he said that Vietnam now manufactures products for medium and high-end market and hardly any low-end products. Therefore, the buyers will shift their orders to other countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar as the average minimum wage in these countries is US $ 150, whereas it is US $ 350 in Vietnam.
He also said that Vietnam’s yarn exports to China too have gone down by 80 per cent in the first 6 months of 2019. “Following the US imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on Chinese products, our Chinese buyers asked us to lower prices, but we could not and accepted lower exports to the market,” averred the Chairman.
He was, however, optimistic that the garment and textile sector, despite all challenges, will do well in 2019.
