The nation has bright prospects for greater co-operation with India in the fields of garment and textiles moving forward, according to details released during a recent online trade exchange conference.

The event was jointly held between the Vietnamese Trade Office in India and the Indian Importers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI).

Dr. LB Singhal, general secretary of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the official body of apparel exporters in India, stated that the Indian Government has moved to take various measures aimed at accelerating growth in the sector by allowing FDI enterprises to invest in this field.

Furthermore, Dr. Singhal added that the Indian Government has also approved a scheme that will offer incentives to manufacture and export specific textile products that are produced from man-made fibre (MMF), efforts which will ultimately encourage the industry to produce high-added value products.

Moreover, the domestic textile and garment market is estimated to have reached a figure of US$100 billion in the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year, with the Indian Government subsequently taking numerous measures to accelerate the sector by allowing FDI enterprises to invest in this field, Dr. Singhal noted.

Pham Minh Huong, former managing director of the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex), stressed that India enjoys many advantages, such as supply sources of raw material and training capacity of human resources, in addition to a high level of technology, factors which are expected to provide valuable supplements to the Vietnamese textile industry.

This comes after Vietnam imported roughly US$1.2 billion of cotton and polyester yarn in 2020, of which 62% came from the United States, 18% from Brazil, and 7% from India.

The country also imported US$2 billion of fiber products, including 60% from China, roughly 6% from India, with the remainder coming from Taiwan (China), Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea (RoK), among others.

In addition, the nation also purchased approximately US$10.7 billion of fabric, including roughly 60% from China, the remainder from the RoK, Taiwan (China), and Japan, among others, while imports from India accounted for only 1%.

Huong noted that the country currently ranks third in the world in terms of textile exports, behind China and India, adding that with a long-standing textile and apparel industry, coupled with advantages of natural fibers such as cotton, silk, wool, and synthetic fibers, India represents a potential market for Vietnamese businesses in future.