Vu Duc Giang, Chairman, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) says that contrary to what people expected, the shifting of orders from China, amidst US-China trade war, hasn’t helped Vietnam much. He added though many experts feel Vietnam has the opportunity to get big orders shifting from China, it’s not actually true. Vietnam manufactures products only for the medium and high-end markets. Therefore buyers are likely to 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 declined by 80 per cent in the first 6 months of 2019. He was, however, optimistic that the garment and textile sector, despite all challenges, will do well in 2019.
