Producing shoes for export at Vien Thinh Shoes Company Limited (Source: baohaiquan.vn)The Ministry of Industryand Trade held a seminar in HCM City on April 7 to collect comments fromexperts and enterprises in the industry on the revised plan.
According to the revisedplan’s overall objectives, the leather and footwear industry will develop at ahigh speed to maintain its position as one of the country’s key exportindustries and create more jobs with improved incomes for workers.
Implementing bettercorporate social responsibility and raising the number of trained labourers areother objectives of the project.
Under the revised plan,the sector’s annual production value is expected to grow by 11.62 percent inthe 2016-20 period, 8.87 percent in the 2021-25 period and 6.04 percent in 2026-35period.
In addition, it wouldstrive to achieve an annual export growth rate of 10-15 percent in the 2016-20period, 8-9 percent in the 2021-25 period and 4-5 percent in the 2026-35period, with export revenues expected to reach 24-26 billion USD by 2020, 35-38billion USD by 2025 and 50-60 billion USD by 2035.
It also targets to raise the local content ratein footwear products to 45 percent by 2020, 47 percent by 2025 and 55 percentby 2035.
Assessing the implementation of the master planfor Vietnam’s leather and footwear industry’s development until 2020 with avision to 2025, which was approved in 2010, Nguyen Manh Khoi, Deputy Directorof the Leather and Footwear Research Institute, said after five years ofexecuting the plan, the Vietnamese leather and footwear industry has developedstrongly and made positive contributions to the country’s economy.
Some targets set out in the master plan havebeen implemented quite well, such as basically completing the equitisation ofState-owned enterprises, and forming joint ventures and co-operating with alleconomic sectors, which created conditions for businesses in the sector tothrive.
The sector has invested in upgrading equipment,building new large-scale plants with advanced equipment and technology to raisethe production capacity for the sector, he said.
Most of the companies have applied a managementsystem in accordance with ISO 9000, ISO 14000, SA 8000, as well as performcorporate social responsibility.
But some targets have not been accomplished, hesaid.
For instance, the local content rate in productsremained low at about 35-40 percent, he said, adding that the number ofenterprises applying automation in designing and developing products is alsomodest.
Other targets, including the transformation ofproduct structure and establishing a specialised industrial zone for thesector, especially for leather tanning, have not been done, he said.
Delegates at the seminarsaid demand for raw materials would also surge strongly, and so if supportingindustry is not developed in the coming years, the industry would have todepend greatly on imports, which would make it hard to accomplish its targets.
There are some 1,700enterprises in the sector in Vietnam, of which 800 are large. Foreign-investedenterprises account for 80 percent of the sector’s exports.
Leather and footwearproducts are among Vietnam’s key export items, with exports reaching 16.2billion USD last year, accounting for 10 percent of the country’s totalexports.
They are expected to top17.88 billion USD this year.
The country is the thirdlargest footwear maker and second largest exporter in the world.-VNA
Leather and footwearproducts are among Vietnam’s key export items, with exports reaching 16.2billion USD last year, accounting for 10 percent of the country’s totalexports.
They are expected to top17.88 billion USD this year.
The country is the thirdlargest footwear maker and second largest exporter in the world.-VNA
VNA
