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“Vietnam and India: Forging a New Chapter in Textile Collaboration”

24 May, 2025

A worker at Hung Viet Garment Company in Pho Noi, Hung Yen, Vietnam, sewing garments for export. (Photo: Tran Viet/ VNA)

The Vietnamese and Indian textile and apparel industries are presented with new strategic cooperation opportunities, as the two countries can complement each other in the global supply chain.

This was the key message delivered at the online workshop “Vietnam-India Cooperation in the Textile and Apparel Industry,” organized by the Commercial Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in India on the afternoon of May 23.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Bui Trung Thuong, Commercial Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in India, said that the Vietnamese textile and apparel industry achieved impressive results in 2024, with an export turnover of 43.7 billion USD, up 10% compared to the previous year.

This performance has elevated Vietnam to become the world’s third-largest textile and apparel exporter, only after China and Bangladesh.

However, the Vietnamese textile and apparel industry still faces a significant challenge, as it relies on imported raw materials for up to 65%, mainly from China.

In this context, India emerges as a strategic partner with an abundant supply of cotton and yarn, which can help Vietnam reduce input costs while taking advantage of tariff preferences from the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement.

From the Indian perspective, Mr. Rakesh Mehra, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), shared that the Indian textile and apparel industry reached a scale of 170 billion USD in 2024, with an export turnover of 37 billion USD.

Particularly, India is witnessing a growing demand for high-quality polyester fabric and man-made fibers, with a market size of about 1.2 billion USD per year, presenting a significant opportunity for Vietnamese businesses.

Mr. Truong Van Cam, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), assessed that the current cooperation between the two countries has not yet lived up to their potential. He called for stronger connections, technology exchanges, and the promotion of green production between enterprises of the two countries.

Notably, Vietnamese businesses can import textile machinery from India at a cost 30-40% lower than that of European equipment.

Additionally, the silk industry is also considered to have great potential, as Vietnam can supply high-quality silk, while India possesses a diverse silk industry ecosystem.

This workshop is the second activity in the series of trade promotion activities organized by the Vietnamese Trade Office in India in the second quarter of 2025, aiming to materialize the goal of raising two-way trade turnover to 20 billion USD.

Ngoc Thuy

– 08:25 05/24/2025