Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s footwear exports arelikely to grow 5 percent this year although COVID-19-induced supply chaindisruptions caused decreases in August and September, according to PhanThi Thanh Xuan, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and HandbagAssociation (Lefaso).
Weakening shipments and southern industrial parksdevastatingly stricken by COVID-19 in August and September have troubled industryplayers who were worried that the sector was not likely to achieve its18-billion-USD export goal in 2021.
However, just two months after southern cities and provincesreopened its economy with flexible measures to sustain production and keep thevirus at bay, the billions-dollar industry has seen unexpected breakthroughs,said Xuan, adding that exports will rise 5 percent compare to the previous year.
Vietnam’s accession to multiple free trade agreements(FTAs), particularly the Comprehensive and Progressive for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP), have channeled large FDI from major corporations from theRepublic of Korea, China and others into Vietnam, constantly heightening thedomestic production capacity.
Data from the World Footwear Yearbook shows that Vietnamexported 1.23 billion pairs of footwear in 2020, a 4.4-fold increase against2011. It also marked the first time the country’s global market share hadexceeded 10 percent.
Between 2016 – 2020, Vietnam’s footwear exports picked up6.4 percent annually on average, with its revenue edging up from10.3 percent in 2016 to 13.6 percent of the world's total in 2020.
Various world-famous brands, including Nike, Adidas, Reebok,and Puma, have selected Vietnam as a destination for outsourcing and settingproduction bases.
Deputy General Director of Golden Victory Co., Ltd., Le ThiAnh Dao said Vietnamese manufacturers has quite clear competitive edges overregional rivals in securing orders from brands. “Previously, many brands such as Nikehave mainly placed outsourcing orders in China but now they are more likely to turn toVietnam as global consumers are increasingly in favour of “Made-in-Vietnam”products,” Dao said.
According to Lefaso, Vietnam became the world’s biggestexporter of textile-capped shoes in 2020, accounting for 26.3 percent of totalglobal shipments which has been on the rise this year./.
