By 2030, the fashion sector in Vietnam hopes to generate US $ 100 billion in export earnings. This ambition is being supported by the construction of a new Material Trading Centre. The Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) has proposed this project with the goal of strengthening domestic supply chains and decreasing the country’s dependency on imported materials. This would increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese products in the international market.
Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, Vice President and General Secretary of LEFASO, emphasised at a recent international workshop on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Hanoi that securing local raw materials, which account for 65 per cent of product costs, would be crucial in fostering the sector’s growth. Vietnam’s fashion exports must become self-sufficient in sourcing materials if it is to reach the US $ 100 billion US milestone by 2030.
Global markets are pushing for net-zero and sustainability objectives more and more, and as a result, powerful economies like the EU and US have tightened laws on supply chains. This means that a significant portion of the resources must come from areas covered by free trade agreements, and there must be strict traceability requirements for both importing and producing countries. It will be simpler for Vietnam’s garment industry to handle these new obstacles thanks to the planned Material Trading Centre, which is purposefully built to improve compliance and transparency.
Vietnam is actively working to improve its competitiveness and optimise its supply chain, but nearby nations like Bangladesh should take note of this progress. Bangladesh needs to evaluate its production capacity and look into deeper trade linkages in order to be competitive in the global fashion business as Vietnam develops.
In order to make the Material Trading Centre a reality, Xuan emphasised that cooperation between different parties—including the government—is essential. To optimise the supply chain, support in the form of policy, logistics, and import protocols is necessary for raw materials.
According to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the nation imported raw materials worth US $ 13.42 billion for its textile and footwear industries in the first half of 2024, a 14.11 per cent rise over the same time in 2023.