The US has been the largest garment market for Vietnam for many years, with a turn-over of over US$5 billion in 2008, 57 percent of Vietnam’s garment exports, but the potential for further trade has yet to be fulfilled.
According to US statistics, in 2008 Vietnamese exports of clothing, such as T-shirts and sportswear, were just behind China, Mexico and Bangladesh.
Vietnam garment exports to the US fell slightly in the first five months of 2009. However, that fall was still relatively lower than that of other countries.
In the first quarter of 2009, Vietnam had 4.47 percent of the US garment market, 1.34 percent higher than the same period last year.
To improve the situation, Le Quoc An, chairman of Vietnam Garment and Textile Association, said that from 2009, Vietnam garment products will be showcased at Magic, the world’s largest fashion trade event, held annually in February and August in Las Vegas.
Pushing exports to the US market
The US’s total garment market is worth $90 billion, which makes Vietnam’s $5 billion share quite small and open to improvement.
Broadening and promoting clothing to new markets, such as South Africa and the Middle East, is way to strengthen exports. However, most Vietnamese clothing companies said they knew little about local tastes and fashion trends. That is the reason why many see the need to strengthen exports to the US.
At a recent meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Karalynn L.Sprouse, deputy chairwoman of Magic’s organization committee, said that clothing consumption is still strong in the US despite difficult economic conditions.
The low-end clothing market is big business in the US, with 65 percent of the population buying such products. This can be seen with the international fashion retailer H&M expecting to open more than 25 new shops this year.
With such a lucrative market open to further improvement, Vietnam has a possibility to increase its clothing exports.
According to the Vietnam National Textile Garment Group, Vietnam garment exports to the US and EU in the first five months of 2009 fell by two to four percent over the same period last year. This fall was much lower than the forecast of 15 percent. This compares with other larger garment export countries, which have seen exports fall by ten to 20 percent. Vietnam is currently the only country in the Southeast Asia region that has seen overall positive growth in the clothing industry in 2009. |
