The Vietnamese textile and apparel industry plans to focus on sportswear and yarn in future as demand for masks and PPE is likely to shrink rapidly, says Le Tien Troung, General Director, Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group. Many textile and footwear enterprises plan to find new markets post COVID-19. For such companies, sportswear is the most lucrative avenue as awareness of physical fitness grew during the pandemic. Euromonitor International estimates demand for sportswear to have declined by just 8 per cent in 2020, the lowest in an industry which saw an overall decline of 16 per cent.

The compounded annual growth rate for the sportswear market in the last five years was 6.5 per cent, 1.5 times the industry average, and it is expected to be worth $479 billion globally by 2025. One of the most successful Vietnamese businesses in 2020, The Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC has stopped taking orders for medical protective gear and antibacterial masks and is focusing on traditional products such as T-shirts and sportswear.

Many businesses have bagged orders until April end, mainly for sportswear, says Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association. The Ky Yarn Joint Stock Company also plans focus on yarn with high quality and competitive, said Dang Trieu Hao, General Director.