Vietnam and Cambodia - The US$18 billion Market Potential for the Global Clothing Industry

In spite of the global economic recession, Vietnam remains the leading garment production country in Southeast Asia, and the 2nd and 7th largest producer for the US and EU clothing markets respectively.

While 2008 had been challenging, Vietnam's garment export reached US$9.1 billion. Cambodia, the 8th and 12th largest producer for the US and EU clothing markets respectively, exported a total of US$3.3 billion worth of garments last year.

VITAS, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association is already projecting an export turnover of US$9.5 billion for 2009 adn US$10 - 12 billion for 2010, a slight year-on-year growth of around 5 per cent. In addition, the industry is also focusing on a domestic market that is worth some US$5 billion in 2009.

Garment Industry - A Big GDP Contributor!

The garment production industry in Vietnam is a significant GDP contributor in the Vietnam economy (14.5 per cent of total exports). In Vietnam alone, there are some 2,000 garment factories employing some 2 million Vietnamese. Some 50 of them are state-owned, more than 1,400 are local private enterprises and about 450 are foreign direct investment enterprises. More than 50 per cent of these garment factories are located in Ho Chi Minh City and its environs. Some 30 per cent and 10 per cent are located in Hanoi and Danang respectively.

In Cambodia, garment production is even more significant as a GDP contributor with 72 per cent of its total exports in 2008 being ready-made garments. A total of 400 garment factories employing some 300,000 Cambodians are located there.