Textile exporters seek government aid to tide over difficult year

Workers at Saigon 2 Garment Company. Apparel makers anticipate a tough year ahead and want the government to give them a helping hand. The textile and garment industry is demanding government assistance to overcome the export hurdles posed by the recession.

At a meeting organized by the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu in Ho Chi Minh City Wednesday, apparel exporters suggested that the government should consider introducing a package of three measures. The first is for assisting workers in businesses facing export difficulties or considering layoffs, Le Quoc An, chairman of the group and of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said. He suggested spending 1 percent of the total garment export earnings. The second, worth VND5 trillion (US$294 million), is for subsidizing exporters’ bank credit. An said the rate offered by banks may have fallen to 12 percent recently but it is still too high at a time of recession. The third measure is for promoting the industry in the international market at a cost of VND50 billion ($2.94 million). Vietnam’s main apparel markets are the US, Japan and the EU. Khu assured them that the government would support the industry since it is a major foreign currency earner. Textiles, in fact, replaced crude oil as the top earner last year at $9.1 billion after the plunge in oil prices. The industry also created more jobs than the others, he said, adding his ministry would submit the package to the government for approval. Shrinking orders An said Vietnam’s apparel producers had less export orders than last year. Foreign businesses were affected the most though they have more orders than local producers, he said. Many of them cut jobs and closed factories because of the economic slump in key markets like the US, Japan, and the EU, he said. He forecast exports to fall 15 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. But he said it is difficult to set a target for the whole year since no one knows when the recession would end. Bui Van Tien, general director of Viet Tien Garment Corporation, said recessions occurred in every decade, adding firms should not worry too much about them. But they should restructure their business and train human resources, he said. The industry would recover soon if apparel producers focused on the home market in addition to their traditional export markets, he assured. Reported by Minh Quang