Compared to the first half of last year, Vietnam’s garment and textile exports has reached US$4 billion this year down by 4.7 per cent according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, (VITAS).

Nguyen Son, deputy general secretary of VITAS said that his country had expected to rope in US$700 million from the garment and textile exports in June after reaching US$3.3 billion in the first five months. However, companies could not register much profit because the price of export garments is 15 per cent less than compared to last year and the purchasing power of markets in the U.S. and Europe has also been reduced. According to Vitas, many garment exporters are trying to tap the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe to avoid depending too much on the U.S. and west Europe. This year, Vietnam has targeted to earn US$9.5 billion by way of garment and textile export revenue, 5 per cent more than last year.