There is one country which is making headlines in apparel and textile exports even in COVID-19 times and that’s Vietnam.
The country is even witnessing tremendous growth in medical mask exports as well. During May 2020, Over 150 Vietnamese factories shipped 181.54 million medical masks as stated by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).
This whopping number is 1.3 times greater than the cumulative value of mask exports from Vietnam in Jan.-Apr. ’20 period which was 139.50 million.
It’s worth recalling that there were some partial restrictions on mask export in Vietnam to cater to the domestic demand till April year. The ban was lifted in April end, giving exporters a sigh of relief.
However, JETRO didn’t reveal any detail of export destinations but the industry says majority of masks were exported to EU.
The European Union, one of the worst hit regions by COVID-19 and a big export market for Vietnam, is still in great need of medical PPE supplies to fight coronavirus outspread but the Union currently levies tariffs on medical mask imports which range from 6 per cent to 12 per cent.
It’s speculated that EVFTA will come into effect in August this year which will help Vietnamese factories see increased exports of medical masks as well as other apparels and textiles to EU.
The agreement will also assist Vietnam to ship masks to EU which meet EU quality standards, which is not the case right now. Currently, there was no CE mark on the medical masks exported temporarily from Vietnam to EU during urgent procurement period.
