Vietnam’s Textile Industry Breaks Records with Export Momentum

Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is on track to meet an ambitious export target of US$47-48 billion by the end of 2025, driven by strong order flows and global expansion.

Since the beginning of the year, the industry has received positive signals. In the first seven months of 2025, export turnover exceeded $26.33 billion, a $5.3 billion (9%) increase from the same period in 2024.

Many businesses have already secured orders through the end of the year, ensuring continued growth until the year’s end.

For the rest of the year, exports must average more than $4 billion per month in order to meet the annual goal. Even though this is a challenge, industry experts think that given the current growth trajectory, the goal is attainable.

This year, the industry’s exports have reached 132 countries and territories, up from 104 in 2024, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

Notably, Vietnam is expanding its market presence in Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Asean countries in addition to exporting premium clothing items to China.

Vietnamese businesses are also looking to invest abroad in Mexico and Myanmar, with plans to expand further in Egypt and India. This larger footprint illustrates Vietnam’s improved standing on the world map of textiles and clothing.

With growth exceeding 10 percent, the sector had a strong foundation to meet its ambitious targets, according to VITAS Vu Duc Giang, chairman.

He emphasized, however, that businesses must effectively utilize the 17 new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) and adjust to changing trade dynamics and disparate economic policies across key markets if they hope to continue to succeed.

At the same time that some major economies continued to disagree over trade and economic policies, the industry required flexible solutions to deal with changing global conditions and regulatory frameworks.

Every business needs to strengthen the connections in its supply chain. Giang stated that companies were urged to proactively create more resilient and sustainable value chains by learning from tariff disputes and Europe’s strict green-product regulations.

The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) chairman, Le Tien Truong, emphasized the significance of prudently modifying production plans in the upcoming months to protect jobs and guarantee steady wages for workers.

He added that in order for businesses to remain competitive, absorb growing input costs, and modify pricing strategies to hold onto orders in a global market that is becoming more and more difficult, they must implement flexible financial management strategies.

Many clothing companies are speeding up their shift to sustainable development and green production in order to satisfy more stringent demands in demanding markets.

Businesses are switching from traditional cut-make-trim (CMT) models to higher-value techniques like FOB (free on board), ODM (original design manufacturing), and OBM (original brand manufacturing), as well as investing in new machinery and improving the skills of their employees.

In addition to increasing product value, these initiatives boost Vietnam’s ability to compete in international supply chains.

Truong stated that in order to reach their export goals, the companies in his group were working to maximize their current production capacity.

Important actions included increasing productivity, tightening cost control to lower resource consumption, and optimizing the efficiency of machinery and equipment.

At the same time, businesses were fostering digital transformation to improve governance, strengthening the connection between R&D and real market orders, and creating niche products to add distinctive value.

Truong told daidoanket.vn that Vinatex had set a pre-tax profit goal of VND910 billion, a 9 percent year-over-year increase, and a consolidated revenue target of more than VND18.31 trillion for 2025, which is equal to last year’s level.

His group would concentrate on stabilizing its export markets, especially in the US, Japan, and the EU, while also investigating new and emerging markets in order to meet these goals.

Vietnam’s textile and apparel exports still have a lot of potential for growth, according to VITAS chairman Vu Duc Giang, despite obstacles from the US’s increasingly stringent tariff policies and uncertainty surrounding international trade. He confirmed that the industry could easily hit the $48 billion export mark this year.