Workers at a footwear production plant in Vietnam (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)

According to the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso), Vietnam’s footwear export totaled 22 billion USD last year, 12% higher than the previous year. The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement has expanded Vietnam’s footwear export market to Mexico, Canada, Chile, and Peru. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, Secretary General of Lefaso, said the footwear industry recorded stable growth and maintained its competitive edge in traditional markets. “The sector’s industrial production index in 2019 increased 10% and its export value totaled 22 billion USD, surpassing the set target. It signals further growth of the footwear sector which has developed steadily since 2014. We hope to seize every opportunity.”

Vietnam has expanded its footwear export market to more than 100 countries, 70 of which import more than 1 million USD worth of Vietnamese footwear. Lefaso says in 2020 the sector’s industrial production index is expected to increase 11% and the localization rate of products will hit 60 percent, while the export value will increase 10% to 24 billion USD.

Cao Quoc Hung, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade says Vietnamese footwear companies need to reform technology, increase productivity, and be more proactive in developing the market and increasing competitiveness: “The Ministry of Industry and Trade is building a strategy on footwear sector development until 2030 and a vision to 2035 this year to provide the government and enterprises a roadmap for making leather footwear a spearhead economic sector.”