Le Quoc An, chairman of the Viet Nam Textile and Garment Association, said with just less than a month to go for the year-end the original target of US$5.2 ?5.4 billion seemed out of reach and the revised estimate was $4.8 billion.
He said by November? end, exports were only worth $4.32 billion including $1.6 billion through export quotas.
However, pointing to non-quota export worth $1.02 billion ?four times the 2002 figure ?to the US, he said: "These figures indicate that Vietnamese textile and garment firms have gained in strength."
Exports to Japan recorded a 14 per cent growth. An said Vietnamese garments had to directly compete with products from other countries since most of them were non-quota exports.
General director of joint stock garment company Sai Gon No 3, Pham Xuan Hong, said: "It is difficult to enter the Japanese market. But if our garments win the Japanese customer? confidence it is possible to achieve high export growth." Up to 40 per cent of Sai Gon No 3? exports went to Japan.
Hong said Vietnamese textile and garment exports to the EU would increase by 15 per cent this year. However, he said, Viet Nam could have attained even higher growth since the EU had lifted all quota barriers for garment imports.
Underestimation
An said underestimating rival nations?strengths was the reason why Viet Nam missed the export target.
"Our companies were weaker than we expected and Chinese and Indian firms much stronger."
The director of a HCM City joint-stock garment company, who declined to be named, said while allocating quotas for garment exports State agencies failed to foresee conditions garment companies would encounter. He also said information about foreign markets was inadequate.
Though taxation and customs systems had improved relatively, they continued to hinder textile and garment exporters, he said further.
An said the competitiveness of individual textile and garment firms was one of the association? major concerns, admitting that they were less competitive in terms of product variety, technical know-how and equipment.
He said the textile and garment sector would face even harsher competition in 2006 with the signing of a bilateral textile and garment trade agreement between China and the US.
Diep Thanh Kiet, deputy chairman of the HCM City Textile, Garment, Embroidery, and Knitting Association, said while retaining existing markets, Vietnamese companies should also focus on certain Asian markets like Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea.
