Leather shoe production chain (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The conclusion of the Trans-pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and other free trade agreements (FTAs) will bring great opportunities to Vietnamese businesses, especially leather and footwear firms.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa made the remark during a conference in Hanoi on January 19, which was to review the production and export-import of the leather and footwear sector in 2015, and define development orientations in 2016.
Leather and footwear producers need to limit imports of materials in order to enjoy tariff incentives when they export their products to the US and European markets, Thoa stressed.
FTAs also put great pressure on Vietnamese footwear exporters, said President of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association Nguyen Duc Thuan.
He underlined that Vietnamese enterprises should be considering advanced technology applications in production in order to increase product quality and productivity.
Vietnam earned 15 billion USD from exporting leather and footwear products in 2015, up nearly 16 percent against the previous year.
The sector aims to enjoy a year-on-year boost of between 15-20 percent in export value in 2016.
Vietnam’s footwear export to traditional markets recorded huge growth in 2015, hitting nearly 50 percent in Chinese market, and 20 percent and 10 percent in the US and EU markets, respectively.
Producers paying special attention to renovating production, improving the quality of their products, and actively seeking new markets significantly contributed to the sector’s huge development in the past year, Thuan said.-VNA
