Hanoi (VNA) – Only by developing high quality and excellent designscould Vietnamese garment and textile firms boost their exports to Japan, amarket that holds strict standards for imported products, according to theinsiders.

As a large trade partner of Vietnam, Japan is expanding imports for a widerange of products originated from the Southeast Asian nation, and garment andtextile industry holds huge potential.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade reported export revenue during January-Junetotaled nearly 18 billion USD, up 8.61 percent from the same time last year. Ofthe total, shipments to Japan reached 1.89 billion USD, just after the US (over11.7 billion USD), and the EU (2.56 billion USD).

Chairman of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) Vu Duc Giangsaid Vietnam could sell high-quality shirts, suits, sport wear, kids’ clothingand towels to Japan; however, exporters should be well prepared before enteringthe market due to its complicated distribution system and high costs of tradepromotion.

Despite weak purchasing power in the East Asian country, exports of garmentsand textile still enjoyed robust growth, and many businesses have won contractsto ship products to the market by the end of this year, including Viet Tien,Nha Be and Garment 10.

According to Than Duc Viet, General Director of Garment 10 Corporation, Japanhas been a traditional market of the company for years. The firm has cooperatedwith leading fashion brands and retailers in the country like Uniqlo and Aeon.Currently, shipments to Japan account for over 12 percent of the company’stotal exports.

Viet stressed that improving fashion design capacity and competitive edge isthe only ways for Vietnamese exporters to increase added value of garmentexports, as well as sustainably increasing export revenue in Japan.

As many Japanese partners have placed orders for small quantity of clothingwith original designs and required shipments in a very short time, local firmsmust have sufficient materials to fulfill the contracts, or else they wouldlose these high-end customers.

The Vietnam National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex) said garment andtextile have long been among key exports of Vietnam. Thanks to advancedtechnology and skillful labourers, the goods have better quality, thus winningthe favour of many fastidious markets such as the US, the EU and Japan.

Vinatex is gearing towards sustainable development through balancing exports inall markets, and has been paying special attention to Japan that has soundpolitical relations with Vietnam. Besides, Japan was the first market ofVietnamese garment and textile when the country had not joined the World TradeOrganisation.

Its member company, Dong Xuan Knitting firm (Doximex), has cooperated withJapanese-based Katakura Industries Co. for 10 years to improve product quality.Katakura expects to work more with Doximex in the production of underwear. -VNA