Vietnam’s garment-textile exports top $17 bln in five months

Vietnam’s garment and textile exports exceeded $17.58 billion in the first five months of 2025, up 9% year-on-year.

Imports totalled $10.63 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.95 billion for the sector, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

Truong Van Cam, vice chairman of VITAS, noted that despite ongoing challenges such as slow global demand recovery and geopolitical tensions in some regions, many enterprises have still maintained stable production, gradually improved their operations, and tapped into niche markets to seek new growth opportunities.

With the U.S. adjusting its tariff policies on many countries, including Vietnam, Cam urged businesses to explore other markets with significant potential.

He further shared that surveys conducted across six countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, China, and Vietnam – show that Vietnam ranks below China in just a few criteria while outperforming the others in most aspects.

"This indicates that the quality and pricing of Vietnamese textile and garment products are already in the mid-range or higher segment," he said.

However, Cam also pointed out that the inability to fully control supply sources of raw materials not only hinders the traceability of Vietnamese textile products – a key factor for seeking preferential tariffs, but also limits design development, thus reducing competitiveness in foreign markets.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi stated that Russia, with the world’s fourth-largest GDP by purchasing power parity, is currently eager to enhance cooperation with Vietnam, whose apparel has high quality and designs suiting the fashion tastes and trends in this market. Therefore, Vietnamese businesses should be more active to seize market opportunities.

Economists believe that although Vietnam’s textile-garment shipments to Russia have grown rapidly in recent years, they still account for a modest share of the overall market. As such, there is considerable potential for further collaboration in this sector.