A record surge of Covid-19 infections has forced around a third of Vietnam’s textile and garment factories to halt operations. According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), around 30 to 35 percent of textile and garment factories in Vietnam are now closed.

Footwear, too, has been hit hard by Vietnam factory closures. Taiwan’s Pou Chen, which makes shoes for Adidas and Nike, and South Korea’s Changshin, which also supplies Nike — suspended operations last month. Pou Chen stopped production at a Ho Chi Minh City factory, its largest in the country, on July 14.

Vietnam’s daily new cases have been trending between 7,000 and 8,000 and nearly all of the country’s more than 200,000 infections have been recorded since the beginning of July, 2021.

Vietnam was one of few Asian economies that grew last year despite the pandemic and according to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) latest World Trade Statistical Review, the country overtook Bangladesh to become the world’s second largest garment exporter in 2020.

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said the vaccination rate among industry workers is “still very low”, prompting the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) to lobby US President Joe Biden to provide vaccines to Vietnam and other “key partner countries”.

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