The Vietnam Saigon Textile and Garment Industry / Fabric and Garment Accessories Expo 2017 (Saigon Tex 2017) opened in HCM City on April 5, showcasing a wide range of latest machinery and equipment and feedstock for the textile and garment industry.

The 35,000sq.m expo has attracted nearly 1,200 exhibitors from 23 countries and territories, including Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the US, and Viet Nam.

It will feature several seminars -- on increasing the value of Vietnamese textile and garment products, investment opportunities in the textile and footwear sector and trade barriers from the free trade agreement between the EU and Viet Nam, today’s global apparel and fashion market, and others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Phan Chi Dung, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s light industry department, said textile and garment is one of the country’s highest export earners.

The garment and textile industry earned US$28.5 billion from exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 5.2 per cent, with the US, the EU, Japan, and South Korea being the largest buyers.

But its value addition was low compared to its counterparts in other countries since enterprises mainly did sub-contracting work for foreign buyers, he said.

Another factor is that “we have not developed a supply chain for the industry,” he said.

Le Tien Truong, general director of the Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said there is fierce competition in the global garment and textile market, which increasingly demands higher product quality, more competitive prices and faster delivery.

Vietnamese enterprises need to improve their competitiveness and invest in new technologies to improve their productivity and quality, reduce costs and at the same time reduce energy consumption and protect the environment, he said.

During the past 28 years as well as this year, the organisers of the exhibition have always striven to introduce new generations of machinery, equipment and technology as well as input materials and accessories for the industry, he said.

Dung said Saigon Tex 2017 would offer garment companies a gilt-edged chance to foster relations with foreign enterprises and explore investment opportunities, acquire technologies to increase local content in garment products and improve quality to meet the needs of local and international buyers.

This would add value to Vietnamese garment and textile products, contributing to the development of the industry, he said.

Organised by the Vinatex, VCCI Exhibition Service Co., Ltd, CP Hongkong Exhibition Organisation Co., Ltd and CP Vietnam Exhibition Organisation Co., Ltd, the exhibition at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre will run until April 8. — VNS