Nguyen Quoc Anh, chairman of the HCM City Rubber Plastic Manufacturers Association, told VietnamNet News the prices of materials, chemicals and rubber additives have soared this year and show no signs of stabilising.

He said some manufacturers are waiting until prices subside before placing orders, rather than incur further losses.

Despite this, from January until April, garment exports were up 9% to $9.5 billion compared with the same four months last year while footwear shipments grew 18% to $6.4 billion, according to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office.