Vietnam’s textile and apparel exports in the first half of 2022 will total approximately US$22 billion, an annual increase of 23%. However, due to high global inflation and heavy pressure on industrial inventories, the industry is pessimistic about the performance in the second half of the year and bluntly stated that the full-year export target of US$44 billion will be difficult to achieve.
Although Vietnam’s total textile and apparel exports increased significantly by 23% in the first half of this year, there has been constant bad news recently, including the continued increase in annual inflation rates in Europe and the United States, resulting in weak consumption ; In addition, the industry has experienced a “retaliatory rebound” after the epidemic in 2021, and high inventory will become a problem in the second half of 2022.
Zhou Xianyu, manager of the Vietnam branch of Golin Co., Ltd., an industrial sewing machine manufacturer, told the Central News Agency that due to the new crown epidemic in 2020, the performance of the textile and garment industry will explode in 2021, and it is helpless. Factors such as inaccurate port and shipping schedules disrupt the situation and add variables to the recovery in 2022.
He said that many garment factory customers reported that the clothes produced in the first half of 2021 were originally scheduled to be launched in the United States at the end of that year, but the shipping date was delayed until January 2022. It was only shipped to the United States in March, and these clothes that were too late to go on the market had to be placed in the warehouse and packed into “new autumn and winter products” in 2022.
Zhou Xianyu pointed out that Vietnam’s textile and garment exports were strong in the first half of 2022, mainly due to digesting orders in 2021 and some “urgent orders”. Now entering the second half of the year, although There are orders for spring and summer clothing in 2023, but they are generally not as strong as autumn and winter. In addition, brands have to start digesting the autumn and winter styles that were delayed in arrival last year and have not yet been launched. Many garment factories are beginning to have a small month.
Since they have sewing machines in stock in Vietnam, they can seize the opportunity to seize the market and hope to maintain a 10-15% growth in annual performance.
The global crisis of high inflation is also a major factor affecting the export performance of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry. Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported that Europe and the United States are Vietnam’s two major export markets for garments. Rising prices have weakened people’s purchasing power, and the sharp decline in consumer demand in Europe and the United States has affected Vietnam’s garment exports.
Nguyen Van Thoi, chairman of TNG Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company, said that Vietnam has set a full-year textile and clothing export volume of US$43-44 billion this year, but I think This goal will not be achieved, and exports for the whole year may only grow by about 5%.
Tran Nhu Tung, chairman of Vietnam Success Textile and Apparel Company, is also worried about garment exports in the second half of the year. He believes that as the United States begins to implement the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act”, foreign companies will be more cautious in importing clothing, and Vietnam’s garment exports will further slow down in the fourth quarter of this year.
