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Footwear exports to top $6.2b
Leather and footwear exports could top US$6.2 billion this year, according to the Leather and Footwear Research Institute.They were worth $5.3 billion last year.
The leather and footwear sector has posted impressive growth in recent years to become the third biggest export earner behind garment and textile and crude oil, the Ministry of Industry and Trade-run institute said.
There are more than 700 firms operating in the sector, employing 700,000-750,000 workers, of whom 80 percent are women.
But with 70 percent of these firms merely doing sub-contracting work for foreign companies, their techniques, technologies, and designs depend completely on their foreign principals.
Besides, with the industry importing most raw materials, Vietnamese footwear products see little value-addition, experts said, noting that their competitive advantage in terms of prices over rivals like China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand is also gradually shrinking.
To develop sustainably and become more competitive, the sector needs to restructure and increase the local content rate, they said.
It should upgrade technologies, expand the product range, and improve quality to meet the increasing demands of consumers, they said.
They urged the industry to hire designers and create its own designs rather than just wait for orders and make products based on designs provided by the buyers.
To capture the domestic market, footwear firms should research the market and expand distribution networks, they said. The industry now exports up to 90 percent of its output.
Viet Nam ranks fourth globally in footwear exports, selling its products to 50 countries and territories, with the EU, US, and Japan being the main buyers.
The main export items are sports, canvas, and leather shoes and sandals.
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