Vietnam, S. Korea Sign Cooperative Apparel Agreement

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) and South Korean Federation of Textile Industries (RFTI) signed an agreement on September 8 to boost trade cooperation and investment in the industry.

 

The signing was in a Vietnam-South Korea Textile & Garment Forum held September 8 in Hanoi.

 

Vietnam and South Korea, which are listed among the world’s top ten apparel exporters, will see a lot of opportunities to strengthen garment cooperation under the inked pact, said RFTI vice chairman Myeng Keun, who is also the head of a visiting delegation of RoK garment businesses.

 

Addressing the forum, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu said Vietnam’s garment sector is still weak in materials supply, fashion design and brand promotion, which, meanwhile, are strong points of South Korea.

 

Last year, Vietnam earned US$139 million from exporting apparels to South Korea while spent US$1.31 billion on importing materials mainly fiber from the country.

 

In the first half of 2009, Vietnam exported US$77 million worth of garment products to South Korea despite the strong impact of the global economic crisis.

 

South Korea ranks sixth among importers of Vietnamese apparels and has 441 enterprises operating in Vietnam’s garment sector. (Vietnam Economic Times)