GARMENT AND ACCESSORIES

Vietnam stands as a global powerhouse in garment and textile export, ranking as the world’s third-largest exporter behind China and Bangladesh, with export values exceeding USD 44 billion in 2024. This performance reflects an 11 percent year-on-year increase in 2024, showcasing the sector’s robust growth trajectory.

Early 2025 trends remain encouraging. The first two months saw textile and apparel exports rise 8 percent compared to the same period in 2024, totaling approximately USD 6.4 billion. Meanwhile, January alone delivered USD 3.189 billion in textile and garment exports (excluding yarn and fibre), a 1.8 percent increase year on year. As of mid April, total export turnover had reached USD 1.8 billion, an 8.7 percent gain compared to the same period the previous year.

Apparel and textile exports are driven by strong demand from key markets. The United States remains Vietnam’s largest customer, accounting for nearly half of the export share. In 2024, exports to the U.S. alone reached USD 16.15 billion, while Japan and South Korea followed with USD 4.33 billion and USD 3.15 billion respectively. When viewed through broader export data, Vietnam sent USD 42.1 billion worth of textiles in 2023, with the U.S., Japan, and China as its top destinations.

The export landscape is further shaped by advantageous trade agreements. CPTPP markets have emerged as strong growth drivers: by July 2024, textile exports to CPTPP signatories—including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—totaled USD 660.11 million for that month, marking a 10.9 percent annual increase; in the first seven months of 2024, CPTPP markets accounted for approximately USD 3.66 billion or 18.1 percent of total textile exports.

Vietnam’s garment and accessories sector is structured across upstream (fiber), midstream (fabric and dyeing), and downstream (garment manufacturing) stages, with the downstream cut make trim (CMT) model making up about 70 percent of output. More advanced models like OEM and ODM account for the remaining 30 percent. The upstream materials side remains a bottleneck: domestic sourcing is limited, and imported materials—especially from China—still dominate. In 2023, Vietnam imported USD 16.6 billion in textiles, of which roughly 63.8 percent came from China; fabrics accounted for about two-thirds of that import volume.