Despite the global fashion industry suffering from a range of challenges caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Vietnamese garment and textile industry has recorded positive growth in market shares to major locations such as the United States and Europe. 

According to a report published late last year by McKinsey, the global fashion industry's profits endured a fall of 93%, with more than 10 major fashion brands going bankrupt and roughly 200,000 workers in the fashion supply chains in the US losing their jobs.

Furthermore, the Vietnamese market share of garments and textiles enjoyed growth last year due to uninterrupted production activities, achieving 20% in the US market for the first time and taking the lead in terms of market share for several months.

January alone saw the export turnover of the local textile and garment industry rise by 3.3% on-year to approximately US$2.6 billion, of which some products enjoyed a high growth rate of between 9% and 36%.

This year marks the first time in 25 years that Vietnamese textile exports have recorded a negative growth rate of 10.5%, only reaching US$35 billion in comparison to US$39 billion in 2019.

Despite this, amid a global aggregate reduction of over 22%, the results of the local textile and apparel industry can be considered to be relatively positive.

Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), states that the global textile market is anticipated to bounce back during the second quarter of 2022, adding that there are numerous challenges ahead for the sector due to the complicated nature of developments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In line with this, the domestic textile and garment industry is anticipated to achieve an export turnover of some US$39 billion this year, with local businesses expected to boost market expansion and maximise benefits from free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to bolster exports.