Vietnam Looks to Become Second Biggest Apparel Exporter to U.S. in 2008
Vietnam is expected to climb the second place among textile and garment exporters to the U.S. this year if its shipment of this product continues the upward spiral, Saigon Times Daily said.
The Asian country’s market share will grow to an estimated 6.1 per cent this year from 3.2 per cent in 2005, or the fifth position among the top apparel suppliers for the U.S. market, said the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ho Chi Minh City.
The new market share will make Vietnam the second largest supplier this year behind China as Vietnam’s northern neighbor continues to take the lead with 33.5 per cent last year and is forecast to reach 38.7 per cent this year.
Vietnam ranked the fourth as an apparel exporter stateside, up from the fifth in 2006. The country is likely to overrun both India and Mexico to get the second in 2008 if current trends continue, said AmCham Ho Chi Minh City.
The Asian nation is expected to rake in US$6.1 billion from apparel sales to the U.S. this year if the present trends continue and do not take into account possible exchange rate movements.
Last year’s figure was US$4.5 billion, accounting for 43 per cent of America’s total import from Vietnam of some US$10.6 billion.
This increase in Vietnam’s textile and garment shipments to the U.S. is attributed to the lifting of U.S. quotas in January 2007 when Vietnam officially obtained the WTO membership.
Vietnam has targeted to earn total apparel export revenues of US$9.5 billion this year, compared with US$7.8 billion last year. (Saigon Times Daily)
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