NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE VIETNAM’S LEATHER AND FOOTWEAR EXPORT IN 2019
In 2018, the Vietnam’s leather and footwear industry successfully reached its target with export turnover of 19.5 billion USD, up 10% from the previous year. With expected favorable economic factors in 2019, the industry aims to achieve an export turnover of 21.5 billion USD and create a turning point for the development of supporting industries.
Speaking of the possibility of reaching the 2019 export target, Mrs. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan – General Secretary of Vietnam Leather and Footwear-Bags Association (Lefaso) – said: In the global market, Vietnamese leather and footwear industry has a significant position when the country is only standing behind China in terms of footwear export volume. The quality of Vietnam’s exporting footwear is increasingly improved and recognized over the years.
Export markets of leather and footwear industry have changed in the last few years with the emergence of some markets such as Japan, Korea, China with a high growth rate of over 20% per year. This is likely to be resulted from the impact of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs): ASEAN – China, Vietnam – Korea, especially the Vietnam – Japan FTA in the period of deep tax reduction. ‘’These nations will be the key market for the growth of the Vietnam leather and footwear industry in 2019’’ – Mrs. Xuan stressed. On the other hand, the traditional export markets of the industry such as EU and US do not grow as strongly as the newly emerged markets but still maintain the leading position in terms of turnover.
Assessing opportunities in the perspective of integration, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang – Director of WTO Center and Integration – Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) – affirmed that: With a high level of commitment, the Comprehensive Partnership and Transpacific Progress Agreement (CPTPP) is officially put into practice, providing opportunities for Vietnam to enter new markets. Accordingly, for footwear, most tariff lines are eliminated by Canada as soon as CPTPP becomes effective. The tariff elimination schedule of other countries such as New Zealand, Chile, Australia is not only within 3-4 years.
With the indicated advantages, the representative of Lefaso confidently said that the target of 2019 of the industry is expected to increase by 10% in value of industrial production; export turnover can reach 21.5 billion USD, maintaining the 10% growth speed like in 2018.