Vietnam is now the third largest exporter of footwear in the world, andit can increase its exports further by using opportunities provided byfree trade agreements.
Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, General Secretary ofthe Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), saidVietnam was the world's fourth largest footwear producer, after China,India and Brazil, but it had the third largest value of exports, afterChina and Italy.
Vietnamese footwear has been shipped to 50overseas markets, and the country is the second largest footwearexporter to the United States, the European Union and Japan, Xuan said.Also, Vietnamese handbags have been exported to 40 countries andterritories.
According to the General Department of Customs, thevalue of the leather, footwear and handbag industry's exports reached5.84 billion USD in the first five months this year, up 16.8 percentfrom the same period last year.
The association expected theindustry to achieve year-on-year growth of 18 percent in the first halfof this year, with total export value reaching 7.15 billion USD - 5.7billion USD from footwear and 1.45 billion USD from handbags.
Xuansaid existing and future free trade agreements (FTAs) were expected tohave a positive impact on the development of the industry. Theseagreements include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, theVietnam-European Union FTA, the agreement with the Eurasian EconomicUnion, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Communityagreement.
When the TPP deal is signed, Vietnam expects importtax rates to drop from between 3.5 percent and 57.4 percent to zero.Xuan said that would be a breakthrough for the industry, enabling it toincrease its exports in both volume and value.
This year, theFTAs had had no direct impact on the industry's exports, but they hadcreated favourable conditions for the industry to attract investments inproduction of material and finished products for export, she said.
Vietnamneeds to develop its production of raw material for the footwear andhandbag industry to reduce its dependence on China in this regard,according to Xuan. The industry expects foreign investors to bringproduction technology to improve the quality of products and upgrade thetechnology here.
The industry and Lefaso would work with theVietnam Trade Promotion Agency to hold a conference on trade promotionfor the leather, footwear and handbag industry on July 15 with the aimof attracting more foreign investors, Xuan said.
She noted thatsome 200 local and foreign companies would take part in the conferenceto promote cooperation in investment, production and trade.
Theparticipants would discuss opportunities and challenges faced by thelocal footwear and handbag industry in production and export, as well asways to improve the competitiveness of the industry by 2020, the Thoibao Tai chinh online reported.-VNA
Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, General Secretary ofthe Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), saidVietnam was the world's fourth largest footwear producer, after China,India and Brazil, but it had the third largest value of exports, afterChina and Italy.
Vietnamese footwear has been shipped to 50overseas markets, and the country is the second largest footwearexporter to the United States, the European Union and Japan, Xuan said.Also, Vietnamese handbags have been exported to 40 countries andterritories.
According to the General Department of Customs, thevalue of the leather, footwear and handbag industry's exports reached5.84 billion USD in the first five months this year, up 16.8 percentfrom the same period last year.
The association expected theindustry to achieve year-on-year growth of 18 percent in the first halfof this year, with total export value reaching 7.15 billion USD - 5.7billion USD from footwear and 1.45 billion USD from handbags.
Xuansaid existing and future free trade agreements (FTAs) were expected tohave a positive impact on the development of the industry. Theseagreements include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, theVietnam-European Union FTA, the agreement with the Eurasian EconomicUnion, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Communityagreement.
When the TPP deal is signed, Vietnam expects importtax rates to drop from between 3.5 percent and 57.4 percent to zero.Xuan said that would be a breakthrough for the industry, enabling it toincrease its exports in both volume and value.
This year, theFTAs had had no direct impact on the industry's exports, but they hadcreated favourable conditions for the industry to attract investments inproduction of material and finished products for export, she said.
Vietnamneeds to develop its production of raw material for the footwear andhandbag industry to reduce its dependence on China in this regard,according to Xuan. The industry expects foreign investors to bringproduction technology to improve the quality of products and upgrade thetechnology here.
The industry and Lefaso would work with theVietnam Trade Promotion Agency to hold a conference on trade promotionfor the leather, footwear and handbag industry on July 15 with the aimof attracting more foreign investors, Xuan said.
She noted thatsome 200 local and foreign companies would take part in the conferenceto promote cooperation in investment, production and trade.
Theparticipants would discuss opportunities and challenges faced by thelocal footwear and handbag industry in production and export, as well asways to improve the competitiveness of the industry by 2020, the Thoibao Tai chinh online reported.-VNA
