The above content was stated by Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ho Chi Minh City Branch (VCCI - HCM) Tran Ngoc Liem at the opening ceremony of the SaigonTex 2025 Exhibition.

Director of VCCI – HCM Tran Ngoc Liem said that the textile and garment industry is in the TOP 8 products with an export value of over 10 billion USD of Vietnam - Photo: Dinh Dai.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Director of VCCI – HCM Tran Ngoc Liem said that textile and garment is a leading industry in Vietnam, not only contributing greatly to the growth of domestic and foreign trade but also attracting foreign investment to Vietnam over the past years.

Regarding trade, according to Director of VCCI – HCM Tran Ngoc Liem, in 2024, Vietnam's import and export activities achieved many remarkable achievements, reflecting the strong recovery of the economy after the pandemic and efforts to maintain growth in the context of many fluctuations in the global economy. Vietnam's total export turnover in 2024 reached over 786.29 billion USD, an increase of 15.4% over the same period last year. Of which, exports reached 405.53 billion USD, up 14.3% and imports reached 380.76 billion USD, up 16.7% over the same period last year. Mr. Liem said that this achievement was greatly contributed by the textile and garment industry with an export value of 44 billion USD (up 11.26% compared to 2023), in the TOP 8 items with an export value of over 10 billion USD of Vietnam, helping Vietnam surpass Bangladesh to become the second largest textile and garment exporting country in the world after China. Vietnam's main export markets by proportion are: the United States (37.98%), the EU (9.77%), South Korea (8.93%), China (8.3%), ASEAN (6.59%). On the other hand, import turnover is estimated at 25 billion USD, up 14.79%. Thus, the whole industry has a trade surplus of 19 billion USD, an increase of 6.93% compared to 2023.

“The domestic market over the past 25 years has also increased from over 300 million USD to about 4.5 billion USD. In 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade sets a target of total export turnover increasing by 10-12% compared to 2024. In particular, the export target of the textile and garment industry is from 47 to 48 billion USD,” said Director of VCCI – HCM Tran Ngoc Liem.

Regarding foreign investment attraction, according to Director of VCCI – HCM Tran Ngoc Liem, by the end of 2024, the whole country has 42,002 valid foreign investment projects with a total registered capital of nearly 502.8 billion USD, of which the implemented capital reached nearly 322.5 billion USD, equivalent to 64.1% of the total registered investment capital. The textile and garment industry alone has about 3,500 FDI projects in the textile and garment sector, with a total investment of over 37 billion USD. The FDI sector is playing an important role, contributing about 65% of the total export turnover of the entire industry. The countries/territories with the largest investments in Vietnam's textile and garment industry include: South Korea, Taiwan (China), China, Japan and India.

Director of VCCI - HCM Tran Ngoc Liem assessed that although Vietnam's textile and garment industry has achieved many achievements in both trade and investment, in the coming time, the industry still has to face many major challenges such as labor shortage, unpredictability of orders, the issue of raw materials with origin according to the requirements of FTAs, new trade barriers from traditional markets...

SaigonTex 2025 Exhibition takes place from April 9-12, at SECC Ho Chi Minh City, organized by VCCI-HCM, Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), Ho Chi Minh City Textile and Apparel Embroidery Association (Agtek), Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), CP Exhibition Ltd (Hong Kong) and Organizing Company Limited - Photo: Dinh Dai.

To overcome these difficulties, Mr. Liem said that businesses in the industry need to promote chain linkages, apply technology, automate and green factories from raw materials and fuels, and participate more deeply in the global textile and garment supply chain. Specifically, from now until 2030, the textile and garment industry will gradually shift from rapid development to sustainable development. From 2031-2035, develop sustainably and effectively according to the circular economic model; complete the domestic value chain and participate in a high-value position in the global supply chain.

“As the largest and most influential exhibition of the Vietnamese textile and garment industry, over the past 35 years, the SaigonTex – Hanoitex exhibition has not only been an opportunity to introduce the achievements of the Vietnamese textile and garment industry from raw materials, machinery and equipment to finished products, but also a place for domestic and foreign enterprises to seek customers and business partners”, said Director of VCCI – HCM Tran Ngoc Liem. At the same time, he said that, as a national trade and investment promotion agency, VCCI-HCM has continuously accompanied the organizing committee and agencies to actively promote the exhibition. This year, Saigontex - Saigonfabric 2025 brings together more than 1,100 exhibitors from 25 countries and territories, all of whom are reputable suppliers in the world textile and garment industry. He also believes that this is not only a good opportunity for exhibitors to introduce their technology and products to the Vietnamese and world markets, but also an opportunity for exhibition visitors to update market information as well as seek new business opportunities.