Diversifying supplies of raw materials for the garment-textile sector has proven a headache during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now been largely brought under control in Vietnam but remains a complex issue in other countries, a conference in HCM City on June 24 heard.

Figures show that the sector incurred losses of over VND12 trillion (US$517.5 million) in the first half of 2020 due to COVID-19.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said the sector has set an export target of US$40 billion in 2020.

The pandemic made that goal next to impossible, she said, and the association has now adjusted it to US$34 billion, but even this will be problematic.

Apparel export turnover for the year as a whole is expected to be about 20% less than in 2019, while enterprises will only operate at 70-75% of capacity to the end of the year.