Having already become a major market for textile technology, Vietnam’s potential as a market for Italian textile machines will be tested at the upcoming Saigontex trade fair, scheduled to take place in Hochiminh City, Vietnam, from March 30 to April 2.
Saigontex, which is being held concurrently with the Vietnam Textile & Garment Industry Expo, happens to be the biggest and the most important trade and information platform in Vietnam. Since the 1990s, these two exhibitions are being held regularly at Hochiminh City and Hanoi.
Jointly organised by the Italian Trade Agency for promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian businesses, and the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT), the event will host the 12 machinery manufacturers — all ACIMIT associated members — A Piovan, Beta Machinery, Carù, Fadis, Ferraro, JK Group, Mei, Pozzi Leopoldo, Pugi Group, Ratti, Rollmac, Tonello.
Now established as an important manufacturing hub for the garments sector, owing mostly to the low labour costs, Vietnam’s textile industry has recently been given a stronger boost by the free trade agreements recently signed with the European Union and United States.
Vietnam currently ranks eighth among the export markets for Italian textile machinery companies, with exports to Vietnam over the first nine months of 2015 touching €31 million, a 53 per cent rise from the same period for 2014. Among the products most in demand are finishing or ennobling and spinning machinery.
“In the face of these new scenarios, we’re expecting over the medium term a strong boost in demand for textile machinery by Vietnamese textile manufacturers,” explained Raffaella Carabelli, President of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers.
ACIMIT represents an industrial sector, comprising around 300 companies, employing around 12,000 people that produce machinery for an overall value of about €2.5 billion, with exports amounting to 84 per cent of total sales. Italian textile technology is sold to around 130 countries worldwide.