Phan Chi Dung, Director of the Light Industry Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the garment sector’s most noteworthy achievement is the increase of its export turnover to more than US$7.8 billion in 2007, more than double the 2004 figure and making up 15 percent of the country’s total export revenue.

This has helped lift Vietnam to ninth position among the world’s biggest garment exporters, he added.

The sector’s growth rate was maintained during the first ten months of this year, with total export turnover hitting US$7.64 billion, up 20.3 percent over the same period last year. This figure is predicted to reach US$9.5 billion by the end of the year.

The US remains Vietnam’s largest garment importer, contributing 57 percent of the country’s export turnover, followed by the EU (18 percent) and Japan (9 percent).