Workers of the Sai Dong Garment Company produce shirts for export to the US, the EU and Japan (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Textile and electronics have been thetwo export-oriented sectors mostly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, anofficial has said.
NguyenThi Xuan Thuy, deputy director of the industrial development centre under theMinistry of Industry and Trade, made the statement during the webinar themed'Global Value Chains in the Time of COVID-19: The Experience of Ethiopia andVietnam’, hosted last week by the World Bank Chief Economist Offices of theAfrica and East Asia & Pacific Regions and the Finance, Competitiveness andInnovation Global Practice.
“Most Vietnamese textile and apparel companies are currently involved in theoutsourcing practice, closely linked to consumer markets,” Thuy said.
“However, the sector is facing major difficulties and challenges related tobranding. Textile businesses depend heavily on global value chains.
“Amid the COVID-19 crisis, most companies have had to lay off a large number ofemployees to cope with the pandemic. Only some large-scale companies canmaintain their workforce,” she said.
Meanwhile, most businesses in the electronics industry are multinationalenterprises (MNEs) and are more resilient to the effects of COVID-19, Thuysaid.
“Electronicsis a very important industry in Vietnam. MNEs are seeking global suppliers tojoin the global value chain,” she said.
“For the textile sector, the value of apparel exports decreased by 2.3 billionUSD in the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, the electronics sector achievedhigher export value. In the global industrial manufacturing market, the growthof the textile industry decreased by 7 percent compared to the same period lastyear, while the electronics sector increased by nearly 3 percent.”
Vietnam’s Government was supporting the two sectors with trade facilitationmeasures as both are export-oriented sectors. It had allowed the opening of theborder for goods trading and was willing to issue electronic certificates oforigin for goods to make it easier for companies to export and import, shesaid.
Workers and businesses have also been supported by financial assistancepackages.
For electronics, the Government has taken measures to promote linkagesbetween MNEs and local suppliers.
These enterprises also focus more on capacity development, participating in theGovernment's programmes. From there, local businesses can improve theircapacity to become global electronics suppliers, Thuy said.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to global value chains,hampering the supply of raw materials and intermediate inputs and the sale offinal goods, said Victoria Kwakwa, WB East Asia and Pacific RegionalVice President.
Containment measures resulted in shutting down production. Transport problemsand customs delays have all interrupted value chains, she said.
This was affecting firms and employment in East Asia. Without interventions,these could lead to the permanent losses of important supply chain relationshipsthat are difficult to rebuild, she said./.
“For the textile sector, the value of apparel exports decreased by 2.3 billionUSD in the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, the electronics sector achievedhigher export value. In the global industrial manufacturing market, the growthof the textile industry decreased by 7 percent compared to the same period lastyear, while the electronics sector increased by nearly 3 percent.”
Vietnam’s Government was supporting the two sectors with trade facilitationmeasures as both are export-oriented sectors. It had allowed the opening of theborder for goods trading and was willing to issue electronic certificates oforigin for goods to make it easier for companies to export and import, shesaid.
Workers and businesses have also been supported by financial assistancepackages.
For electronics, the Government has taken measures to promote linkagesbetween MNEs and local suppliers.
These enterprises also focus more on capacity development, participating in theGovernment's programmes. From there, local businesses can improve theircapacity to become global electronics suppliers, Thuy said.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to global value chains,hampering the supply of raw materials and intermediate inputs and the sale offinal goods, said Victoria Kwakwa, WB East Asia and Pacific RegionalVice President.
Containment measures resulted in shutting down production. Transport problemsand customs delays have all interrupted value chains, she said.
This was affecting firms and employment in East Asia. Without interventions,these could lead to the permanent losses of important supply chain relationshipsthat are difficult to rebuild, she said./.
VNA
