HANOI, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam gained nearly 4.9 billion U.S. dollars from exporting garments and textiles in the first two months of this year, up 19 percent year-on-year, according to the country's Ministry of Industry and Trade on Tuesday.
Between January and February, products witnessing significant export growth included fabrics made from natural fibers (up 14 percent), fabrics from synthetic fibers (up 14 percent) and clothing (up 11 percent).
The revenue surge was mainly attributable to strong market demand, with many orders already placed for the first six months of this year or even the whole year, said the ministry.
By the end of this year, total export turnovers of the industry may reach 40 billion U.S. dollars, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association forecast.
Vietnam, among the world's five biggest exporters and producers of garments and textiles, posted garment and textile export turnovers of over 30.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, up 16.6 percent from 2017.
However, Vietnam had to spend more than 12.9 billion U.S. dollars importing cloth last year, up 13.5 percent, the association said, noting that most of local cloth has yet to satisfy quality requirements of the country's key garment export markets.
