The turnover of Vietnam’s textile and garment export industry has increased 16.01 per cent against the previous year. Export turnover of the garment sector was up 14.45 per cent. Turnover of fabric exports was up by 25.5 per cent. Yarn export was up by 9.9 per cent. The trade surplus of the garment sector increased 14.39 per cent. The income surge has been attributed to a shift of manufacturing units from China to Vietnam. Foreign investment has also increased in Vietnam.

Once the free trade agreement with the EU comes into force, investments in Vietnam’s textile and garment industry are expected to increase further. The garment export surge seen by Vietnam this year has been the maximum in the past three years. It was 12.1 per cent in 2015, 4.07 per cent in 2016 and 10.8 per cent in 2017. There are over 2,000 textile and garment projects in the country. Vietnam’s supply chain diversification has been happening for a few years already, mainly driven by rising labor costs in China. Even before the trade war, Vietnam was getting attention because of the proximity to China and because of the existing infrastructure in the country. The full supply chain has been set up in the country for the past decade already.