In the first quarter of 2018, Vietnam’s exports of yarns and fibers were up 14.2 per cent in volume and 17.3 per cent in value compared with the same period last year. Two thirds of yarn produced in Vietnam is for export. Yarn and fiber exports performed well in the early months of 2018, especially to the US, Korea and India. Prior to 2000, the domestic fiber sector had only one million spindles but since then, fiber production expanded to 3.7 million spindles in 2007 and is seven million spindles at present.

Vietnam’s fiber sector can take advantage of new-generation free trade agreements to develop further. Under such agreements with Korea and Vietnam, import taxes applied to Vietnamese fiber have been reduced to zero per cent. Vietnam is seen as an ideal destination for foreign-invested spinning projects. Korea, China and Hong Kong are leading investors of spinning factories in Vietnam. Japan also outsources yarn products to Vietnam.

In 2017, Vietnam exported 7,00,000 tons of fiber and yarn to China. Yarn and fiber exports are forecast to reach about $3.9 billion in 2018 compared with $3.59 billion dollars in 2017. As a leading yarn and fiber exporter, the Century Synthetic Fiber Corporation has recorded high export growth in the past two years.