Vietnamese textile exports for nine months in 2021 were up 5.6 per cent over the same period last year, says a CCF Group report. The main destinations were: the United States, the European Union and Japan. Eexports to the United States were up 11.1 per cent, to the European Union up 2.4 per cent and to Japan down 11.6 per cent. The main export commodities were apparel, cloth, fiber, non-woven fabric, textile accessories.

Vietnam depends heavily on imports of raw and auxiliary materials for textile production. Imports of raw materials by the textile and leather shoes industry in the first nine months of 2021 were up 26.9 per cent over the same period last year. Of these, imports from China had a 52 per cent share, up 31 per cent over the same period last year. Other imports were from South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.

The apparel, textile, footwear, and electronics industries in Vietnam have been most harshly affected by the COVID-19-related shutdown. There are more than 6,000 factories in Vietnam, which employ more than three million workers. Production shutdowns at footwear manufacturers have already caused supply chain disruptions for major brands, some of whom have begun using airfreight to get their products out of Vietnam as quickly as possible amid a shipping crunch.