Difficulties surrounded, orders in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased deeply, but the two industries of textile and footwear still brought in export turnover of USD 71 billion, the highest level ever.

According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) and the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), 2022 is a challenging year for the industry when facing downward global economic pressure and high inflation in many major economies, causing a decline in demand for textiles, garments and footwear.

In particular, in the second half of the year, difficulties and inflation affected global purchasing power, causing orders of businesses to drop. However, the textile and footwear industry still achieved double-digit growth.

The growth of export industries in general depends heavily on world aggregate demand. The fourth quarter of 2021 and the first eight months of 2022 were good growth periods for the textile and garment industry, but in the fourth quarter of 2022, orders dropped, many businesses had to cut labor.

The production, business and export targets for 2022 have been completed with good growth, but this does not guarantee that the textile, garment and footwear industry will maintain its growth in 2023, because there are many objective factors adversely affect the growth of the industry.

High inflation in most of Vietnam's major markets such as the US, EU, etc. affects consumption of non-essential goods. The most affected export sectors are furniture, textiles, footwear, electronics, plastic and plastic products.

Accordingly, comparing the actual order situation, the textile, garment and footwear industry forecast that the export market will be quiet, at least until the end of the first quarter of 2023.

In the long term, textiles, leather and footwear are still the main export industries of the economy. The Strategy for Development of Vietnam's Textile and Footwear Industry to 2030 with a Vision to 2035 has just been approved by the Government.

The strategy sets a target that in the 2021 - 2030 period, the average growth rate of textile and apparel export turnover in the period of 2021 - 2030 will reach 6.8 - 7.0%/year, of which the growth rate in the 2021 - 2025 period reaching 7.2 - 7.7%/year. The total export turnover of the two industries in 2025 will reach USD 77-80 billion, in 2030 will reach USD 106 - 108 billion.

Kylie Nguyen