Hanoi (VNA) – The footwear sector hasoptimised opportunities from free trade agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam hassigned to increase exports, according to insiders.

Statistics from the Vietnam Leather, Footwearand Handbag Association (LEFASO) showed Vietnam’s footwear exports reachedapproximately 9 billion USD in the first half of 2019, a year-on-year increaseof 14 percent.

Vice Chairman of the LEFASO Diep Thanh Kiet saidas one of the world’s leading centres of footwear production and export,Vietnam attracts a lot of foreign investment in this field. 

Secretary General of LEFASO Phan Thi Thanh Xuansaid footwear started enjoying large tariff cuts right after the Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) took effectearlier this year.

Due to the deal, Vietnam’s footwear exports toother markets in the CPTPP are expected to increase by 10-15 percent in 2019,she said.

Particularly for Canada, up to 78 percent ofVietnam’s footwear exports to the market enjoy zero percent tariffs followingthe CPTPP’s enforcement and may reach 500 – 550 million USD in 2019, she added.

In the US, the removal of incentives forfootwear exported from China and India is creating a competitive advantage forVietnam’s footwear sector, she revealed.

Vietnam earned 16.2 billion USD from exportingfootwear in 2018, including 12 billion USD grossed from the US, the EU andChina.

According to the organisation World Footwear, in2018, the US imported nearly 2.4 billion pairs of shoes worth 26.3 billion USD.Of which, Vietnam’s exports hit 5.7 billion USD, making up 22 percent of theUS’s footwear imports, behind only China.

Escalating trade tensions between the US andChina have shifted investment flows, with Vietnam now a target destination forsome footwear manufacturers, Kiet said.

He said with confidence that factories which aremanufacturing footwear to export to the US will come to Vietnam first, offeringopportunities for Vietnamese firms to access various brands from the US as wellas develop the footwear supporting industry.

According to the General Statistics Office, theUS was the biggest export market of Vietnam with turnover of 22.6 billion USDin the first five months of 2019, up 28 percent against the same period lastyear.

At present, Vietnam is second after China inexporting footwear to the global market with more than one billion pairs ofshoes annually.

Many experts have said that from now to 2025,Vietnam’s footwear sector is capable of competing with China in terms of labourcost and per capita income as well as economic policies and export markets.-VNA