HCM City (VNA) – Recommendations were given to Vietnamesetextile-garment businesses at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on April 10 tohelp them develop strategies for sustainable development.

Secretary General of the Vietnam Textile andApparel Association (VITAS) Truong Van Cam said the country is now one of thebiggest textile-garment exporters in the world. The sector gained nearly 37billion USD from exports in 2018, up 16 percent year-on-year, with the figureexpected to hit some 40 billion USD in 2019.

Additionally, the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is forecast to create a drivingforce for Vietnam’s textile-garment industry in 2019 and the following years,he said.

Despite its relatively fast growth, the industrystill has certain weaknesses, especially in compliance with rules of origin,Cam said, noting that this is considered one of the sector’s major challenges asit strives to capitalise on new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs),including the CPTPP.

He said that aside from the CPTPP’s difficulties,there are also opportunities that will arise as strict regulations will promptVietnamese firms to make changes to develop more sustainably and win the trustof global consumers. It will also put pressure on companies to cooperate withone another to form supply chains and actively attract investment to improvetheir production and business performance.

The textile-garment industry is viewed as asector with high pollution risks. Therefore, amid international economicintegration, businesses need to adhere to environmental protection regulations,he said, recommending that they pay attention to circular economy in which theyshould save water and energy during the manufacturing process.

Meanwhile, Vo Tan Thanh, Director of the HCMCity Branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said theindustry is highly valued, especially as one of the biggest foreign currencyearners of Vietnam. As such, reforming technology, improving product quality,and reducing production costs are necessary to promote its product competition ondomestic and foreign markets.

Thanh also asked businesses to actively seekcooperation chances in terms of equipment and material supply so as to meetrules of origin in FTAs and enhance their competiveness on the global market.In particular, they should switch from a made-to-order model to the productionof goods created by themselves to help the sector gain strides in sustainability.

Statistics show that more than 6,000 businessesare operating in the textile-garment industry of Vietnam, which is believed tostill have much room to expand exports, especially to the 10 other CPTPPmembers. The country has exported just 5.3 billion USD worth of textile-garmentproducts to CPTPP countries each year, accounting for 6.3 percent of thegrouping’s market.–VNA