Uninterrupted supply chain crucial for Vietnam amid ongoing COVID wave

In order to change the scenario, Vietnam needs to control the pandemic by the third quarter and ensure that business activities return to normal, Thanh said while speaking in an online conference, according to Vietnamese media reports.

Although the country has a lot of orders for fashion products like clothes and shoes, the delivery time is strict and the companies not abiding by the same would incur penalties, Do Quynh Chi of the Research Centre for Employment Relations said during the conference. Producers are finding it difficult to complete orders and deliver on time.

Chi added that brands and suppliers need to come together to help the country recover from the pandemic, because Vietnam is part of the global supply chain.

As restrictions have been implemented in the country, Ho Chi Minh City has allowed the continuation of production activities for enterprises in the city when ensuring one of two cases. Enterprises must ensure both production and isolation of workers with the motto ‘3 on site’: on-site production, on-site eating-drinking, on- site resting); or they must ensure the implementation of the motto ‘1 road – 2 locations’: only one route to transport workers from the place of residence to the workplace (dormitory, hotel, dormitory, etc).

According to Ho Chi Minh City’s Human Resources Forecast and Labour Market Information (FALMI) Centre, business performance in the city will improve by the end of the year if the pandemic eases. The final months of the year are usually when enterprises increase production and business activities to cater to the demand rise ahead of the Lunar New Year.

FALMI has predicted that the city will need over 9,000 workers for garment and footwear manufacturing towards the end of 2021, if the restrictions are eased.

Vietnam’s exports had increased by 29 per cent in the first half of the year due to recovering US and China markets and tax incentives from EU under the EVFTA agreement. The demand for Vietnamese exports from major markets was on a rise and the country also benefitted from the punitive tariffs from the US on China.

However, ensuring uninterrupted supply chain is crucial for Vietnam to continue leveraging the current global situation and drive economic development in the country.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)