When two-thirds of textile and footwear materials are imported

Among imported materials for the textile and garment industry, fabrics have the largest import volume, accounting for 46%. With leather and footwear industry, leather import is 65-70%, 40% fabric …
The Vietnamese textile industry consists of more than 6,000 businesses and more than 2.7 million workers. However, due to the low rate of processing industry, localization of textile industry depends on machinery as well as raw materials including cotton, fabric, fiber, fiber … imported from abroad, especially Trung. National.
Along with textiles and garments, footwear is also a sector with a large amount of imported raw materials. Raw materials for textile and garment and footwear imported into Vietnam in February 2014 increased by 13.5% compared to January 2014, reaching over 73% in turnover, equivalent to USD 306.23 million.
The two main markets that provide this product group to Vietnam are China and South Korea. In February, the import of these materials from China was worth 80.38 million USD, an increase of 63.69% compared to the same period last year, accounting for 30.38% of the total import turnover of this group of goods nationwide.
Behind these two main markets, Vietnam also imports textile and footwear materials from markets: Taiwan, United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brazil, Italy.
Sharing with us, Ms. Dang Phuong Dung, General Secretary of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), said: “Among textile materials imported from China, the fabric has the largest import volume, about 45 % Other materials are not available for specific statistics ”.
Vitas also sent official letters to enterprises requesting to supply data on importing raw materials and dyes from the Chinese market in 2013-2014 to better understand the types and quantities of imported raw materials This school serves as a basis for developing investment and development plans in the country.
In fact, compared to previous years, the domestic supply of cloth has also increased, but not significantly because the production cost is still high, so the selling price to businesses is higher than the import price.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong, General Director of Hung Yen Garment Joint Stock Company said, the company is currently importing about 80% of production materials, mainly fabrics. And of which 2/3 is imported from the Chinese market.
“We have to go to the Chinese market because of the guaranteed time and competitive price. Moreover, the search for materials is not decided by our company but provided by our customers, we only process them. The remaining 20% ​​of raw materials are supplied by foreign enterprises in Vietnam, domestic enterprises, but mainly cloths, buttons … ”, Mr. Duong told the Quoc Quoc.
According to Enterprises, China is the world’s factory for fabric, which is not only a major source of imports for Vietnam but also a source of supplying materials for many other countries in the world because of its advantages in price. , diversified and rich designs. In addition, for Vietnam, the geographical distance is close so transportation costs are also lower than those imported from other countries.
Mr. Le Quang Hung, Chairman of the Board of Garmex Saigon Garment Joint Stock Company, said that buying raw materials is largely dependent on customers. For garment enterprises by mode of processing, dependence is even greater because most of garment processing enterprises are small and medium scale. They have not yet converted to raw material buying – semi-finished products (FOB) so they are dependent on raw materials for production.
Along with textiles and garments, the leather and footwear industry is also closely dependent on imported materials, especially from the Chinese market.
According to Mr. Diep Thanh Kiet, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, this industry is only 30-35% active in leather accessories, the remaining 65-70% is imported from China and Korea. and Taiwan. Fabric accessories are imported less, only less than 40% mainly from China, Taiwan and synthetic leather imported over 50% from China.
“Among the markets in which Vietnam imports raw materials, China ranks sixth,” said Diep Thanh Kiet.
For many years, Vietnamese shoes have been exported mainly in the form of outsourcing to foreign countries (export processing) and export goods manufactured from imported materials. Therefore, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, stated that, only when the industry developed, did the industry develop well. Enterprises in countries with supporting industries well developed when investing abroad, they always put pressure on enterprises where they come.
Vietnam is currently in the two middle segments of the footwear production chain, which is research and development and production. In recent years, the leather and footwear industry has always grown by 15-20% / year. In fact, not only footwear, but also many export industries of Vietnam are promising. By mastering technology, processes, and integrating into production chains, there will be many opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to expand their exports.