Hanoi (VNA) – 2019 will be a challenging year for Vietnam’stextile and garment industry as it needs to obtain major breakthroughs to takeon new roles in the global value chain, including shifting from simpleprocessing - Cut, Make and Trim (CMT) - to purchasing materials, free on board(FOB), original design manufacturer (ODM) and original brand manufacturer (OBM)modes.

The information was heard at the seminar “Prospects for textile and garmentexport in 2019” held in Hanoi on September 20 as part of the Vietnam HanoiTextile & Garment Industry Expo (HanoiTex) 2018.

Experts said that Industry 4.0 will have huge impact on Vietnam’s sector,forcing it to shake up and make heavy investments in both equipment and humanresources.

Now, thorny problems for the garment and textile enterprises are not onlynumber and value of orders and growth pace, but also technological innovationand human resources training.

According to economist Le Dang Doanh, made-in-Vietnam garment and textileproducts are facing fierce competition from those in Bangladesh, Cambodia,Laos, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

He suggested local firms to enhance competitive edge to grasp opportunities andgain foothold in the fluctuating market.

A representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that theVietnamese economy has attained significant achievements during theinternational integration, with stable economic growth and favourable businessclimate, to which the garment and textile sector has made significantcontributions.

Last year, thesector earned more than 31 billion USD in export revenue, up 10 percent from2016. In the first eight month of 2018, Vietnam exported 23 billion USD worth ofclothing products, a year-on-year surge of 15 percent. Export revenue for thewhole year is forecast at 35 billion USD.

The HanoiTex 2018, which opened in the capital city on September 19 and runsuntil September 21, help firms learn about new technologies, thus increasingthe rate of locally-made materials and meeting foreign clients’ demand. Also,it provides a platform for businesses in the field of finance, investment,manufacturing to meet partners, expand markets and work out long-term businessstrategies.

Co-hosted by theHong Kong’s CP Exhibition Company and the Vietnam National Textile and GarmentGroup, the event lured 120 exhibitors from China, Germany, Japan, the Republicof Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan (China), Thailand and Vietnam on a site of over6,000 sq.m.

 On display are patterned, dyed, high-tech andmicro-fibre fabrics, anti-dry weaving materials, and machinery used in sewing,weaving, embroidery, dyeing chemicals and many other materials.

On the sidelines of the event, seminars on building fiber – textile - weavingconnectivity chain and improving workforce quality in the field to meet demandof the Fourth Industrial Revolution will also be held.-VNA