Export Development Canada expands in Vietnam as apparel trade grows

Recently, EDC announced the opening of a new representation during the Team Canada Trade Mission to Vietnam. It stated that the office aims to help Canadian exports and investors penetrate this rapidly growing market.

Vietnam has risen to become the second-largest apparel supplier to Canada after China, overtaking Bangladesh, which held the second position until 2021. Canada imported apparel worth $10.849 billion last year, with imports from Vietnam valued at $1.537 billion, accounting for 14.17 per cent of the total. Thus, Vietnam was the second-largest supplier after China, which accounted for 29.50 per cent of the total imports. Bangladesh's share was 13.26 per cent of Canada's total apparel imports in 2023, according to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro.

Bangladesh was the second-largest apparel supplier until 2021, with a 13.30 per cent share of Canada's total apparel imports of $9.659 billion. Its share increased to 13.98 per cent in 2022, when Canada's apparel imports totalled $12.422 billion. Vietnam's share saw a significant increase, rising by 14.10 per cent in 2022 from 12.43 per cent in 2021. This growth in imports allowed Vietnam to overtake Bangladesh as the second-largest supplier in 2022, a position it maintained last year.Vietnam also benefitted from a decline in Canada's apparel imports from China. In 2023, the top apparel supplier's share was noted at 29.50 per cent, valued at $3.200 billion. In 2019, China's share of Canadian apparel imports was 35.04 per cent, with total imports at $10.108 billion and shipments from China at $3.541 billion. Imports from Vietnam were $1.063 billion, representing 10.52 per cent of the total, as per TexPro.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)