Vietnam local garment exporters with the rise in wages for workers and logistics costs are under pressure particularly in the face of fierce competition from regional rivals like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia greatly benefiting from their governments’ preferential policies that included tax cuts and currency devaluation to boost exports. They have also enjoyed favourable treatment from the US and the European Union (EU), according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade to help domestic garment producers cut costs and reduce administration burdens amid many difficulties facing the industry this year is drafting legal amendments.

The ministry has also urged domestic producers to join foreign supermarket chains in Vietnam and attend overseas product promotion and business-matching events. The state agencies are also asked to support domestic textiles and garment exporters in administrative procedures to help them overcome obstacles.

The ministry worries the export target may not be met as there will not be many big orders for the remaining months as the global demand for textiles and garments fell in the first eight months of 2017. Though the country’s exports rose by 9.9 percent in the first eight months of this year to USD 19.8 billion,

According to Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Vu Duc Giang, the sector aims to export about 30 billion USD worth of textiles and garments in 2017. The US is expected to be the biggest buyer, accounting for 50 percent of exports, followed by the EU (20.5 percent), Japan (19.5 percent), and the Republic of Korea (7.5 percent).