Vietnam's cotton imports from Argentina up; garment exports rise too

Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) chairman Vuong Dinh Hue's official visit to Argentina is expected to create more opportunities for bilateral trade cooperation. Argentina is an important trade partner in the Latin American region for Vietnam, and the two countries are celebrating 50 years of officially established diplomatic relations. Since the establishment of the comprehensive partnership in 2010, the bilateral relationship has made impressive progress, especially in the economy and trade. 

Vietnamese cotton (HSN Code 5201) imports were valued at $21.379 million in 2018 when the country imported 13.379 million kg of cotton. The imports jumped to three times in terms of value and reached $63.725 million (43.881 million kg) in 2021, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. 

However, it fell to $51.606 million (31.267 million kg) in 2022. Despite the fall in imports last year, the value and volume of trade were still significantly higher than in 2018. Imports were noted at $23.879 million (16.934 million kg) in 2019 and $24.433 million (22.680 million kg) in 2020. Argentina is a major cotton producer, while Vietnam is a dominant consumer country with a well-established textile industry. 

Vietnamese garment exports to Argentina increased to $22.354 million in 2022 from $17.636 million in 2021, continuing an upward trend that began in 2020. However, there was a downward trend in previous years. In 2018, exports were recorded at $26.022 million, but they decreased to $23.596 million in 2019 and $17.345 million in 2020. Nevertheless, the trade improved in 2021 to $17.636 million and further increased to $22.354 million in 2022. As of January-February 2023, shipments were recorded at $7.951 million, according to TexPro. 

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)