HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Dinh Vu Polyester Fibre Plant exported nearly 5,500 tonnes of products to the European market in its first three months of operation, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The plant has so far produced 15,500 tonnes of products, more than 8,600 tonnes of which were sold. Product quality has been tested and is equal to that of Thai, Taiwanese and Chinese products.

Covering 15 ha in Dinh Vu Industrial Park in the northern port city of Hai Phong, the US$325 million plant has a designed capacity of 150,000 tonnes yearly. The investor, Petrochemical and Textile Fibre Joint Stock Company (PVTEX), used modern technology from Germany and Switzerland. PVTEX representative Pham Anh Tuan said that capacity would be raised to roughly 77,500 tonnes this year.

The plant will supply about 40 per cent of the materials needed for Viet Nam's textile industry, helping save about $400 million per year. Each year, roughly 3,700 local textile and garment enterprises had to import fibre worth $1.3 billion from Taiwan, South Korea and India.

PVTEX is also constructing the $6.8 million Phu Bai Fibre Plant in the same area.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that Viet Nam had encouraged domestic and foreign enterprises to invest in cotton, fibre and cloth production to create a textile and garment supply chain. This was being done to add value to textile and garment products and take advantage of export opportunities after signing trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement.

Domestic fibre supply has also increased in recent years because local enterprises have expanded production to improve the competitiveness of garment products.

The Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) announced that domestic enterprises had many large projects to expand fibre production so local garment manufacturers could reduce imports.

Vitas noted that the increase in local fibre products had even led to exports, pointing out that exports of material and sub-material products, including fibre, increased to $2 billion last year. — VNS