NDO/VNA - The textiles and garment industry gained the second-largest export value in the first four months of this year, after the export value of phones and their components, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The export value of textiles and garments in the first four months was estimated at US$8.6 billion, an annual increase of 15.7%.

Regarding the export markets, the ministry said that, in the first three months of the year, the United States ranked first, with the export value of textiles and garments from Vietnam reaching US$3.04 billion, an annual surge of 11.6%, and accounting for 47.3% of the total garment export value.

The export value of textiles and garments from Vietnam to Japan reached US$855.44 million, 19.6% higher than the same period last year, accounting for 13.3% of the total export value.

The export value of textiles and garments to the Republic of Korea stood at US$798.6 million and US$268.95 million to China, an increase of 14.8% and 40.9%, respectively, against the same period in 2017.

Meanwhile, the value of exports to the European Union rose by 11.8% to reach US$806.23 million, while the ASEAN market increased by 26% to US$228.36 million, against the same period last year.

To reach the target of US$35 billion in total textiles and garment export value for this year, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association has asked enterprises to fully exploit the working capacity of their workers as well as restructure their management practices to improve labour productivity.

Besides maintaining and developing export markets such as the United States, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the enterprises should focus on developing other markets such as ASEAN, the Eurasian Economic Union, India and Latin American countries, including links with the distribution system in the local market.