Textile and garment exporters are asking for government assistance to overcome hurdles posed by the recession, state media reported.
Apparel exporters suggested that the government should consider three aid packages from the government at a meeting organized by the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) with Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu in Ho Chi Minh January 14.
The first package is for assisting workers in businesses facing export difficulties or considering layoffs, Le Quoc An, chairman of the group and of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said. He suggested spending 1 per cent of the total garment export earnings.
The second, worth VND5 trillion (US$295.85 million), is for subsidizing exporters’ bank credit. An said the rate offered by banks may have fallen to 12 per cent recently but it is still too high at a time of recession.
The third is for promoting the industry in the international market at a cost of VND50 billion (US$2.95 million). Vietnam’s main apparel markets are the U.S., Japan and the EU.
Khu assured that the government would support the industry since it is a major foreign currency earner. Textile, in fact, replaced crude oil as the top earner last year at US$9.1 billion after the plunge in oil prices.
The industry also created more jobs than the others, he said, adding his ministry would submit the three packages to the government for approval, scheduled for next week.
An said Vietnam’s apparel producers had less export orders than last year.
Foreign companies were hit hardest though they have more orders than local producers, he said. They will see an on-year reduction of 30 per cent in orders in the first quarter this year.
Many of them cut jobs and closed factories because of the economic slump in key markets like the U.S., Japan and the EU.
He forecast exports to fall 15 per cent on-year in the first quarter.
Khu said the apparel sector had not yet set final export target at US$9.5 billion or US$11.5 billion for this year due to a number of difficulties. (vnexpress.net, Youth)
Vietnamese
