Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s textile and garment industry hastargeted an export growth rate of 6.5-7 percent to 30 billion USD this year. The target was announced by Le Tien Truong, GeneralDirector of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). Truong said the development of the textile andgarment market at home and abroad would continue improving due to growth in theUS economy and in consumption in the market. Such conditions would support thedomestic textile and garment industry in reaching their target in export valuesthis year. “To reach this target, the industry needsstrong performance by enterprises in production and business, and of the statein management by supporting the industry’s development, as well as developmentof infrastructure in the nation,” Truong told the Vietnam News Agency. Further, the enterprises should improveproductivity, reduce time needed to deliver cargo and strengthen distributionsystems to international markets. Garment and textile enterprises have receivedenough orders to keep them busy through the first quarter of this year, hesaid. He also predicted that this year, Vietnam’sgarment and textile sector will face numerous challenges, including a lack ofsupport in taxation policies, as several important trade deals, such as theEU-Vietnam free trade agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will notbecome effective in 2017. Also, competition will become more fierce, asother countries continue attracting orders thanks to their advantages in taxand exchange rates, he said, adding that the instability in the EU economy willalso affect the industry. However, this year, the textile and garment industrywill prepare to take advantage of business from the Vietnam-EU FTA, which comesinto effect in 2018, he said. After the FTA is in place, Vietnam couldcompete with other countries exporting garments to the EU through theGeneralised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which allows developing countriesto pay less or no duties on some exports to the EU. Those countries includedCambodia, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Meanwhile, other bilateral and multilateraltrade agreements will bring more opportunities in exporting textile and garmentproducts to small and medium-size enterprises, Truong said. In 2016, Vietnam’s apparel also saw lower thanexpected results, with 28.3 billion USD in exports, up 5.7 percent year onyear, Truong added. Vinatex earned over 2.5 billion USD, an increase of 5 percentover 2015, with a pre-tax profit of over 41 trillion VND on a 5 percent year onyear increase. Also, its employees’ average income rose 8 percent over the previous year, to reach 6.7 million VND per month. Last year wasgloomy for the world apparel sector. Major importers, including the US, the EUand Japan experienced low or decreased demand for garment and textile products,he noted. Truong also said that the results showed thegreat efforts made by the sector, as Vietnam recorded higher growth than majorcompetitors, such as China, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The industry gained strong results becauseenterprises focused on increasing productivity and ensuring deadlines ondelivering goods, he said. Further, the State’s reforms on administrativeprocedures for saving money and time improved the business environment andcreated great support for garment exporters by increasing their competitivenessand exports.-VNA