While industry stakeholders are looking forward to seeing how apparel trade shapes up from March onwards amidst COVID-19 outspread, the import data of USA in Jan.-Feb. 2020 period is somehow predicting the future trend of trade, at least from Vietnam’s perspective.
The second largest garment exporter to USA shipped US $ 2.38 billion worth of garments in the first 2-month period of 2020, noting 3.50 per cent growth on Y-o-Y basis.
However, volume of apparels fell by 1.15 per cent and shipment stood at 728 million SME.
The major product categories of Vietnam – T-shirt and trouser – that go in the USA were down in volume-wise shipment by 7.94 per cent and 3.02 per cent, respectively.
However, shipment of trousers from Vietnam to USA worth US $ 650.78 million escalated by 4 per cent in value terms and the same in case of T-shirts (worth US $ 597 million) fell by 2.14 per cent on the yearly note.
Kidswear remained a positive export category both in values and volumes. Vietnam exported 2.17 million kg of kidswear to USA in the mentioned period and noted 5.92 per cent growth; while value-wise, Vietnam clocked US $ 51.84 million revenue, which is 11.16 per cent higher than the same period of the prior year.
Markedly, in these three products –T-shirts, trousers and kidswear – Vietnam surpassed China in T-shirts and trousers export value due to China’s massive fall caused by Coronavirus outspread.
China’s shipment values in T-shirts and trousers stood at US $ 383.30 million (down 45.78 per cent) and US $ 437.16 million (down 48.08 per cent), respectively. This fall helped Vietnam to overtake China; even the growth of former is meagre.
Apparel Resources predict the fall of China will continue from March onwards, as USA is feeling the worst ever health crisis caused by COVID-19 since mid-March and apparel buyers have halted their operations for now.
