HCM City (VNA) - Thegarment industry has called for investment in the underdeveloped textile,dyeing and fabric segments to meet the global supply chain demand, according tothe Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

Speaking at a business interactionevent titled India-Vietnam Textile Cooperation event held in Ho Chi Minh Cityon November 21, VITAS Chairman Vu Duc Giang invited Indian companies to investin the yarn, weaving, dyeing, and printing segments to take advantage of themarket access provided by free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed.

He expressed hope that cooperationbetween India and Vietnam would benefit both countries.

K Srikar Reddy, Indian Consul Generalin HCM City, said bilateral trade in textiles between India and Vietnam hasregistered impressive growth during the last two years. Indian textile andclothing exports to Vietnam grew 48 percent during the last two years from 390million USD in the 2016-2017 fiscal year to 578 million USD in the 2018-2019fiscal year.

“However, there is significant untappedpotential for trade in the area of textiles between our countries,” hesaid.

Vietnam is dependent on other countriesfor raw materials for garments such as cotton, yarn, made-ups, and fabrics andit is looking to diversify its sources.

According to Kalavathi Rao, executiveof the Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council of India, India isthe sixth largest producer of man-made fibre textile (MMFT) and exported morethan 6 billion USD worth of MMFT products to more than 150 countries in 2018-2019.

Its exports to Vietnam were worth 103.7million USD, she said, adding that India’s share of Vietnam’s MMFT imports was3.34 percent.

Dr Siddhartha Rajagopal, executivedirector of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India, said in2018, while Vietnam’s total textile imports were worth 27.90 billion USD, itsimports from India were valued at 640 million USD, or only 2.29 percent.

India’s imports were worth 7.31 billionUSD and imports from Vietnam were worth 300 million USD, he said.

Reddy said under the India-ASEAN FTAmost types of yarns, woven and knit fabrics could be imported duty-free fromIndia.

“India can become a reliable partner ofVietnam in supplying yarn, fabrics, and machinery at competitive prices.”

Rajagopal invited Vietnamese companiesto participate in the IND-TEXPO (Reverse Buyer Seller meet) to be organised byTEXPROCIL from March 17 to 29 next year in Coimbatore.

Visitors from 40 countries wereexpected to participate in the event for sourcing varieties of yarns, fabrics,made-ups, home textiles, and technical textiles from India, he said.

Approved buyers from Vietnam would beeligible for full hospitality, including complementary return airfare,accommodation and local transport, he added.

Organised by the Indian ConsulateGeneral, VITAS, the Vietnam Cotton and Spinning Association, and HCM CityTextile and Garment -Embroidery Association, the event attracted 60 Indiancompanies who also participated in the 19th Vietnam International Textile andGarment Industry Exhibition in HCM City from November 20 to 23 besides localfirms./.