Vietnam’s textile and clothing sector has been dealt a mixed hand as an erratic, hard-to-read global marketplace throws up openings and hazards alike, pushing producers to sharpen cost discipline, raise growth quality and build flexibility while chasing export shipments worth roughly US $48 billion in 2026.
That target is seen as a key milestone, one demanding joint effort from regulators and the private sector. Firms are working to keep existing orders, court fresh buyers and widen their export destinations.
Truong Van Cam, vice-chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said shifting trade policies and tariff barriers in its key consumer markets are now weighing heavily on the entire sector.
The United States, the industry’s largest overseas outlet, currently levies a 12.5% duty on Vietnamese-made apparel and textile goods, leaving local exporters at a competitive disadvantage to certain rivals that face a lower 10% rate.
Cam also stressed that the problem runs deeper than the 2.5-percentage-point tariff gap, since steeper production and logistics outlays could undermine pricing, order retention and export market share.
Producers must contend, too, with climbing costs for raw materials, inputs and machinery, plus dearer transport, freight and logistics charges. Late deliveries of fabric and other raw inputs have compounded matters, upsetting production schedules and pushing back handover dates.
Order books for the final months of the year are diverging sharply. Some firms are booked solid through September or October, and certain knitwear makers have enough work to keep lines running until year-end, yet many garment producers have still to lock in fourth-quarter orders as they had hoped.
In response, companies are now moving away from chasing sheer volume towards higher-value orders on workable commercial terms and better production efficiency.
At the same time, tightening technical and sustainability rules in exacting buyer markets such as the EU and US, spanning labour standards, traceability, ESG practice, green manufacturing, circular economy and cuts in carbon emissions, are fast becoming prerequisites for winning and keeping orders.
VITAS data put textile and garment shipments at almost $31.7 billion for January to August 2026, a rise of 2.9% year on year.
To weather the pressure, the sector is intensifying trade promotion, taking part in leading international trade fairs, speeding up digitalisation, lifting product quality, tightening oversight of material sourcing and pushing up added value.
Tran Van Quy, general director of Trung Quy Textile and Garment Co. in Ho Chi Minh City, said the company has already booked confirmed orders through to the year-end, adding that tight cost control, paired with strong product quality, will help businesses stay nimble.
Experts add that the US$48 billion goal should double as a chance to lift productivity and raise value added, building more durable competitiveness well beyond 2026.
Image courtesy: Vietnam.vn
