Vietnam: Apparel exports may not reach target

By the end of October, total export turnover was only $4bil, which has led analysts to forecast that it may be very difficult to gain $5.2bil of export turnover this year. 

Removal of the quota scheme imposed on Chinese exports has been blamed for the decrease in apparel export, however, enterprises do not lack orders, they lack labour and information.

Nguyen Van Thuy, Director General of Tan Phu Cuong Company said that the company planned to export $1.7mil worth of products, but it can fulfill only 70% of the plan, because labour shortages have badly affected the company's production plan. 

"Since the beginning of the year, the company has been deprived of 150,200 workers," Mr Thuy said. He did not think that salary was the biggest problem; the average income at Tan Phu Cuong is VND1.4mil/moth/person, which is not low for workers in the apparel industry. The problem lies in the fact that the majority of labourers come from other provinces.

In the first months of the year, 20% of the company's workers returned home to enjoy Tet holiday and have not returned to work, Mr Thuy said.

The fact that many localities are now trying to build industrial zones to employ local workers has also led to labour shortages in the big cities. Meanwhile, owners of several other apparel producers blamed tardiness of the Ministry of Trade in providing information on quota allocations. As enterprises lack information, they cannot take initiative in signing contracts with partners. Enterprises believe that maximum apparel export turnover will be $4.8bil for this year.

Vietnamnet.vn