08/06/2026
VIETNAM'S TEXTILE AND GARMENT TRADE PERFORMANCE IN THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 2026
The textile and garment industry remains one of Vietnam’s key export sectors, generating employment for millions of workers and making a significant contribution to economic growth, social welfare, and the country’s trade balance. In 2025, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports reached nearly USD 46.2 billion, up approximately 6% year-on-year, maintaining the country’s position among the world’s leading textile and apparel exporters. For 2026, the industry has set an export target of USD 48-49 billion.
In May 2026, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports were estimated at USD 3.64 billion, down 0.7% from April and 4.7% compared with the same period last year. During the first five months of 2026, total textile and garment export turnover reached an estimated USD 17.81 billion, representing a modest increase of 0.6% year-on-year.
Among major product categories:
✔ Garment exports were estimated at USD 13.72 billion, down 1.5%.
✔ Fiber and yarn exports reached USD 1.90 billion, up 9.6%.
✔ Fabric exports totaled USD 1.22 billion, up 6.9%.
✔ Textile accessories exports reached USD 633 million, up 9.0%.
✔ Nonwoven fabric exports amounted to USD 339 million, up 4.0%.
On the import side, Vietnam imported an estimated USD 10.80 billion worth of textile raw materials and accessories during the first five months of 2026, an increase of 1.8% compared with the same period in 2025. Fabric imports reached USD 6.29 billion, down 0.5%, while cotton imports declined 5.9% to USD 1.27 billion. Imports of fibers and yarns increased 8.5% to USD 1.25 billion, and textile accessories imports rose 11.5% to USD 1.99 billion.
Overall, textile and garment exports maintained positive growth during the first five months of 2026, although the pace remains insufficient to comfortably achieve the industry’s annual target. Garments, which account for the largest share of total exports, recorded a decline of 1.5%, highlighting ongoing pressure on overall industry growth. Meanwhile, fibers, yarns, fabrics, accessories, and nonwoven fabrics continued to expand, indicating that manufacturing activity remains stable despite the lack of a significant breakthrough in demand.
With exports reaching USD 17.81 billion during the first five months, the industry must generate an additional USD 30.19-31.19 billion during the remaining seven months of the year to meet its export target of USD 48-49 billion. This translates into an average monthly export value of approximately USD 4.31-4.46 billion, a challenging requirement given that May exports stood at only USD 3.64 billion and global market uncertainties remain considerable.
✅ Order Situation And Export Outlook For The Second Half Of 2026
Regarding orders, the industry is no longer facing the severe shortages experienced during previous downturns. Most textile and garment enterprises have secured orders through the third quarter of 2026, while several large manufacturers with stable customer bases, strong management capabilities, and compliance with stringent brand requirements have secured orders extending beyond that period.
This order visibility allows companies to maintain production, safeguard employment, and develop operating plans for the coming months.
However, the key challenge is no longer the quantity of orders but rather their quality, associated production costs, and profitability. Orders are increasingly smaller in volume, shorter in duration, and subject to faster delivery requirements, while selling prices have not increased in line with rising input costs. International buyers continue to exert pressure on pricing while demanding higher standards in quality, traceability, sustainability, ESG compliance, and social responsibility. As a result, many companies remain operational but face increasingly thin profit margins.
The industry also continues to confront external risks, including U.S. trade policies, geopolitical tensions among major economies, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, as well as fluctuations in fuel prices, raw material costs, and logistics expenses. These factors increase operational costs and encourage international brands to remain cautious about placing long-term orders.
In the second half of 2026, Vietnam’s textile and garment industry will continue prioritizing its key export markets while maintaining relationships with traditional customers and expanding market diversification efforts. Enterprises are expected to focus on higher-value-added products, more stable orders, and improved profitability while strengthening cost management, productivity, quality control, and delivery performance to remain competitive.
✅ Opportunities For Vietnam
Vietnam continues to hold an important position within the global textile and garment supply chain, supported by substantial manufacturing capacity, an experienced workforce, and relatively stable relationships with international customers. The fact that many enterprises have secured orders through the third quarter of 2026 provides a foundation for maintaining production in the short term.
Several product segments, including fibers, yarns, fabrics, textile accessories, and nonwoven fabrics, recorded positive growth during the first five months of the year, indicating resilience within parts of the supply chain.
In addition, free trade agreements (FTAs) continue to provide opportunities for market expansion and tariff preferences for companies capable of meeting origin requirements. Ongoing supply chain diversification by international brands also creates opportunities for Vietnamese manufacturers with strong production capabilities, effective management systems, and robust compliance standards.
✅ Key Structural Challenges Limiting Industry Growth
Despite these advantages, the industry faces a number of significant challenges.
First, export growth remains modest, while achieving the annual export target will require considerably stronger performance during the remainder of the year.
Second, production costs continue to rise due to increasing prices of raw materials, fuel, logistics services, labor, regulatory compliance, and green transition requirements, while export prices remain largely unchanged.
Third, profit margins are becoming increasingly compressed as companies accept lower-priced orders with shorter lead times and stricter technical and social compliance requirements.
Fourth, the industry remains heavily dependent on imported raw materials, particularly fabrics. This dependence limits the ability of enterprises to fully utilize tariff preferences under FTAs such as the EVFTA and CPTPP, both of which impose stringent rules of origin requirements.
Fifth, labor competition between textile and garment manufacturers and emerging industries is intensifying. Certain labor regulations, unemployment insurance policies, and employment termination procedures also present operational challenges, contributing to workforce instability and increased recruitment and training costs.
Furthermore, administrative procedures relating to investment, construction, environmental approvals, fire safety compliance, inspections, taxation, customs, and the organization of international conferences and seminars remain complex and time-consuming, increasing compliance costs and slowing investment and expansion projects.
While rising costs, increasingly demanding customer requirements, and global uncertainties will place pressure on businesses in the months ahead, these challenges are also accelerating the industry's transformation toward higher value-added production, greater sustainability, and stronger supply chain integration.
Going forward, the ability to enhance productivity, increase localization rates, comply with international standards, and move up the value chain will be critical for maintaining competitiveness. With a solid manufacturing foundation and strategic role in global sourcing diversification, Vietnam is still a key manufacturing hub in the global textile and garment supply chain and retains strong long-term growth potential.
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