Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)WashingtonDC (VNA) - An interactive video conference on “Promoting Vietnam - USTrade in Footwear Post COVID-19” took place in Washington DC on May 27 (UStime) to connect Vietnamese producers and American distributors and retailers.
The conferencewas co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Trade PromotionAgency (Vietrade), the Vietnam Trade Office in the US in partnership withFootwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), the Vietnam Leather,Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), and USAID Linkages for Small andMedium Enterprises (LinkSME), to boost the export of footwear - one ofVietnam’s main foreign currency earners - to the US.
It was thefirst video conference ever held bringing Vietnam’s footwear sector and aforeign market together.
As bothcountries gradually reopen their economies, the conference and its businessmatching session provided a platform for Vietnamese firms and US importers tolearn about each other’s needs and capacity, seek deals, and promote trade inthe “new normal”.
The eventpresented Vietnamese firms with the latest updates on the US’s footwear marketand how it is being affected by COVID-19. US experts also advised Vietnamesefootwear makers on specific market segments they should focus on and how toimprove competitiveness and properly access the US market.
The conferencealso offered Vietnamese companies a chance to discuss the challenges facingthem in exporting footwear to the US.
Vietnamexported 18.3 billion USD worth of footwear products in total last year, up12.8 percent against 2018. The US remained Vietnam’s largest footwear market,buying 6.65 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 14.2 percent.
Shipmentsof footwear to the US grew 10 percent year-on-year to 1.56 billion USD in thefirst quarter of this year./.
VNA
