Vietnam is the second largest textile and garment exporter to the Republic of Korea (RoK), making up one-fourth of the RoK's apparel market, after China.

The RoK imported 627.4 million USD in textiles and garments from Vietnam in the first four months of this year, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas).

The turnover marks an increase of 8.25 percent over the same period last year.

The growth is part of a larger trend. After the ASEAN – Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA), Vietnam's textile and garment industry saw significant growth.

In 2011, the sector's export turnover to the RoK was 900 million USD. A year later it increased to 1.1 billion USD and in 2013 it reached 1.6 billion USD. Last year's total of 2.4 billion USD was a staggering 27 percent increase over that of 2013.

The growth should only continue with the recently-signed AKFTA. According to its open-access commitment, Vietnamese textile and garment products that satisfy certificate of origin norms will enjoy zero tariffs once the agreement takes effect from January 1, 2016. Currently, Vietnamese firms pay a tax of 8 to 13 percent.

The FTA would be a considerable opportunity for both countries' enterprises, said Vitas. The RoK is Vietnam's fourth largest importer of textiles and garments, accounting for more than 10 percent of the market's export turnover, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

It is forecast that textile and garment turnover in the RoK market could reach 16.3 billion USD for 2015, increasing 11.6 percent year-on-year.

The RoK currently provides nearly 20 percent of Vietnam's textiles and with the large volume of ancillary materials it also exports.

VNA