Footwear export up 15%

19 Jan '06

1 min read

Trade Ministry reported Vietnam's footwear exports registered an increase of 15 percent in 2005, with exports to US touching $620 million compared to last year.

Viet Nam exported upper shoes (without soles) worth US$109.2 million, sport shoes worth $392.6 million and $17.1 million worth of vinyl shoes.

Footwear exporters have been asked to concentrate on quality shoes. This is because Chinese exports focus on quantity and not quality.

World Shoe Association's expo for shoes, bags, and suitcases is scheduled to be held this year in Las Vegas and domestic footwear manufacturers will have an opportunity to strike deals with companies like Nike, Reebok and Adidas directly.

Viet Nam's domestic enterprises contributed only US$1 billion or 36 per cent to total footwear exports of $2.8 billion in 2005, rest coming from joint-ventures and foreign enterprises.

Nguyen Gia Thao, chairman of the Viet Nam Leather and Shoes Association, said the decline was because of catering to markets like the US and EU instead of smaller, alternative markets.

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