According to Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to affect the sector until 2022.

If COVID-19 vaccines are available in the first and second quarter of 2021, the pandemic is expected to be controlled by the end of 2023. Then, the textile and garment market could see recovery, Giang said.

He said textile and garment businesses must change production and business models as the pandemic has made global purchasing power for apparel products, including many traditional export garment products of Vietnam, fall by 70-80%.

This is a big challenge for the Vietnamese textile and garment industry. Businesses need to learn about changes in domestic and global markets to find solutions in production and business this year, according to Giang.

He said the domestic textile and garment industry needs to build production chains, especially with countries in blocs that have signed trade agreements with Vietnam and ASEAN. 

The textile and garment industry also needs to have a sustainable development strategy, including changes in production and business models according to the needs of brands and global consumers. They should pay attention to standards, certificates of origin and certification of environmental assurance, energy saving, renewable energy and product safety.

To implement a sustainable development plan for the textile and garment industry, VITAS proposes the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Government to issue the textile and garment development strategy in the 2030-2040 period. That would create favourable conditions to call investment to industrial zones to produce material that faces a supply shortage.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the textile and garment industry has great development opportunities from the recently signed free trade agreements, especially the potential of increasing exports to major markets.

Of which, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed in November 2020 is expected to create opportunities for Vietnam's textile and apparel products and also to replace some other export markets. Because the pandemic is not controlled and that has a great impact on the major export markets of Vietnamese textile and garment products such as Europe.

RCEP is a positive factor for production and business activities of Vietnam's textile and garment industry in 2021 and beyond.

Le Tien Truong, Chairman of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said in addition to the efforts of garment makers, the government should consider lowering borrowing costs so that they can meet new requirements as well as invest in producing materials to meet rules of origin contained in new free trade agreements.

He also suggested the government introduce specific policies to support the garment sector’s development and direct the relevant agencies to reduce logistics costs and other tax burdens.

At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade should continue helping enterprises take full advantage of free trade agreements by issuing guidelines on rules of origin and opening a portal for enterprises to examine the benefits of such pacts.

Vietnam aims to export US$39 billion worth of garment products this year, according to national textile and garment group Vinatex.

Last year, Vietnam’s garment export revenue was estimated at US$35 billion due to the impact of the pandemic, as well as US-China trade tensions, protectionism and Brexit.