Brands are returning to Vietnam after the Government issued Decree 128 on the control of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: N.Thanh

Responding to information that international brands Nike and Adidas have moved their factories out of Vietnam, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) Mr. Vu Duc Giang said this is incorrect.

Giang said these brands do not invest in factories in Vietnam, so they cannot move factories.

However, during August and September, due to the social distancing measures, many Vietnamese factories could not meet the delivery time as scheduled; about 13-14% of orders expected to be delivered in November and December for the New Year market in 2022 had to be transferred to another country.

However, the transfer of these orders is not easy because it takes a lot of money such as the cost of transporting raw materials from Vietnam to another country, the cost of organizing production in a new country and assessing factories.

“Even amid the pandemic, brands still have to conduct factory assessments through online methods and online videos. If the factories meet the requirements, they will be put into operation. Therefore, only when the delivery time is urgent, and there are no choices, the brands are forced to transfer their orders to countries that meet the requirements for production," said Giang.

For example, Viet Tien Garment Corporation is outsourcing production for Nike. According to Giang, this brand has also put pressure on Viet Tien, but they have not been able to find a manufacturer that meets the requirements on time, quality and evaluation system, so they have not moved any orders out of Viet Tien.

Giang added orders are now returning to Vietnam after the Government issued Decree 128 on controlling the pandemic and living with it. Accordingly, brands will continue to contract with Vietnam and return for 2022. Therefore, VITAS has set a target to export US$43-43.5 billion in 2021.

Giang forecast that the Vietnam will export US$38 billion in 2021, up 8% year-on-year.