Vietnam attends Canada Textile Supply Fair 2023, strives to take advantage of CPTPP

At this year's fair, Vietnamese enterprises participating directly demonstrated their ability to provide qualified fabric products that meet the criteria of origin according to CPTPP.

Việt Nam tham dự Hội chợ nguồn cung dệt may Canada 2023, nỗ lực tận dụng CPTPP

Vietnam's booth at the 2023 Canadian Textile Supply Fair. (Source: VNA)

The 2023 Canadian Textile Sourcing Fair in Toronto, North America's largest annual textile sourcing event, attracted six Vietnamese businesses out of more than 200 participating businesses.

Almost all Vietnamese enterprises have sufficient capacity in terms of raw materials to ensure that they can take advantage of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) when entering the Canadian market.

Although this is only the second time Vietnam has participated in this event, two enterprises directly participating are Viet Vuong and Vietnam Export Garments. These are two enterprises with the capacity to produce fabrics that meet the origin rules under the CPTPP agreement.

The remaining four enterprises, Thai Son, May Hai, Tuong Long and Wisermax, did not directly participate, but were supported by the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada to organize booths to promote and introduce their products.

Bob Kirke, president of the Canadian Textile and Apparel Association, said Vietnam has many opportunities because factories have long invested in implementing environmental measures and using energy efficiently. Therefore, products are highly competitive globally.

The Canadian textile market is considered to have a very large consumption capacity, with a consumption rate of up to 10 billion USD per year. However, Vietnam's textile exports to this market are still very modest, even though annual growth has reached more than 40%.

Data from the Canada Border Services Agency shows that the value of Vietnam's textile and garment exports in 2022 will reach about 1.8 billion USD, an increase of 41.2% compared to 2021.

Vietnam has surpassed Bangladesh, a country with lower production costs, to become the second largest exporter of textiles and garments to Canada after China, with a market share of more than 12%.

According to Tran Thu Quynh, Commercial Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy, with the trend of shifting supply sources and seeking new partners of Canadian businesses, Vietnam is emerging as a country capable of supplying textiles in large quantities and with high quality.

Thanks to the advantages of CPTPP, Canadian businesses are very interested in supplying goods from Vietnam. However, up to now, the utilization of this Agreement by Vietnamese businesses is still low.

At this year’s fair, Vietnamese enterprises directly participating demonstrated their ability to provide qualified textile products that meet the criteria of origin under the CPTPP, which could bring new impetus to textile trade and investment between the two countries.

The fact that both countries are members of this multilateral trade agreement has contributed to promoting Vietnam's textile and garment exports to Canada.

Gian hàng của doanh nghiệp Việt Vương tại hội chợ. (Nguồn: TTXVN))

Viet Vuong enterprise's booth at the fair. (Source: VNA)

After the CPTPP came into effect, Canada immediately eliminated 42 tariff lines on Vietnamese textile and garment products, and after 5 years of implementation, the export value of Vietnamese textile and garment increased by 100% compared to 2018, when the Agreement had not yet come into effect.

Currently, the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada is stepping up support for Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises through connecting and disseminating information about the Canadian market to help make the most of the CPTPP's rules of origin in textiles and garments, while helping enterprises understand the changes in Canadians' apparel consumption mindset as well as how to participate in textile and garment supply fairs in this country most effectively.

John Banker, Director of the Textile Supply Fair, commented that over the past two years, with the help of the Vietnam Trade Office, the fair has been able to establish a number of connections and begin to bring in large Vietnamese companies, and expressed hope that more Vietnamese businesses will join the event next year.

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