CAMBODIA, THAILAND & VIETNAM │ 14 – 24 SEPTEMBER 2025

From 14 – 24 September 2025, the CLUB travelled to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam to keep up with the developments in those apparel sourcing destinations. Several manufacturers were visited to capture products, qualities, capacities and prices. At the same time, meetings were hosted with the national sector associations to discuss the potential for cooperation.

Vietnam has developed into a key apparel manufacturing, reaching a total volume of apparel exports to Germany of almost EUR 2 billion in 2024, thus reaching more or less the same levels of 2022. The country has progressed significantly and today offers the full bandwidth of products. Due to the intense Chinese investment, today a wide range of fabrics are domestically available. Labour costs are competitive. Companies work on a CM/T and on an FOB basis, shipping times are between 5-7 weeks. Vietnam enjoys free markets access to the EU as part of the comprehensive EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Cambodia too managed to reach a substantial export volume of EUR 1,6 billion in 2024, following the same development as Vietnam (reaching the levels of 2022, following a bend in 2023). The range of products is more limited, large brands are focusing on special product segment they fully control. Therefore, a majority of manufacturers work on a CM/T basis, fabrics are only availably domestically to a limited extent. Labour costs are more competitive in comparison with Vietnam. Shipping times are a little longer than for Vietnam, as the port system is less developed, local routing is less sophisticated. Usually, Cambodia also enjoys free market access to the EU as part of the ‘Everything But Arms’ rule, but recently, the scope of products has been confined.

Thailand is traditionally also an apparel manufacturer of size, but has never really entered the German market. In 2024, a total of EUR 166 million worth of apparel has been exported to Germany (approximately half of what Egypt exports to Germany). This is due to higher labour costs and the fact that duties apply (a free trade agreement is currently being negotiated). A majority of companies operated on an FOB basis. However, Thailand hosts a number of renowned international brands that appreciate the competence and the reliability of the destination. The country can be particularly interesting for companies seeking low MOQ at competitive prices.

The CLUB is planning to host an information webinar on each country during which the associations will present the manufacturing profile. Moreover, all destinations have expressed their interest to participate in the next edition of the DAY 2026. Interested Sourcers can contact the CLUB for further information, or to discuss their search profiles in those sourcing destinations.

Data Overview: German Apparel Imports / 2020 – 2024 / in 1.000 EUR (source: DESTATIS):