The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) wants the country’s master zoning plan for textile and garment industry development plan to be revised as it has become outdated. The industry’s shipments amounted to $27.5 billion last year and are expected to soar to $31 billion this year. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the master zoning plan for textile and garment industry development until 2020 with a vision toward 2030, said Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa.
He said that Vietnam’s textile and garment sector is projected to grow strongly in the next decade owing to more bilateral and multilateral trade agreements the country has signed, especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Also, apparel importers are shifting orders to markets with abundant low-cost labour. As per VITAS’ chairman Vu Duc Giang, there is a big gap between the master zoning plan and reality. Hence, the association asked the government to review and revise it.
The textile and garment industry is in a good position to grow strong and the government needs to have a long-term strategy to develop the industry and enable it to bank on opportunities from the country’s international integration.
