Garment exports to Japan are expected to be worth

Hanoi (VNA) – Garment exports to Japan are expected to be worth 1 billion USD this
year, a rise of 20 percent over 2008, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel
Association (Vitas).

The association said that about 80 percent of Vietnamese garment makers had
received orders that would see them through to the end of the year.

About 30-40 percent of those orders were from Japan , Vitas added.

Sai Gon 3 Garment Joint Stock Company said that orders from Japan were 20
percent up over last year and that it had signed contracts with Japanese clothing
firms to supply garments up to the middle of next year.

According to the Vietnam Customs Department, the company’s export turnover to
Japan in the first seven months of this year was 16.7 million USD, up 81.1
percent over same period in 2008.

The company said the main reason for increasing orders from Japan was that the
country had eliminated import tariffs on Vietnamese textiles and garments that use
homegrown raw materials, or materials that had originated in Japan or an ASEAN
nation.

Japan ’s decision to scrap import duties followed the signing of the
Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

Japan has become an increasingly important market for Vietnamese garments, as
orders from the US and EU have declined due to global economic downturn.


Last year, Vietnamese textile and garment exports to Japan were worth 820
million USD, 16 percent higher than in 2007.-Enditem