Vietnamese footwear and leather exports reach 27 billion USD Jan 9, 2025 Vietnam
The Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso) announced in a press conference that the country’s exports reached the upper end of its previous forecasts, namely 27.04 billion US dollars. This figure represents an increase of 11.45% as compared to 2023.
North America accounted for 41.4% of Vietnam’s footwear exports and 47% of handbag exports, followed by the European Union with 29.5% and 25.4% respectively. Vietnam’s top 16 markets – including the US, China, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, the Republic of Korea, Canada, France, Spain, Italy and Australia – accounted for 88.4% of total exports.
The association expects exports to grow by 10% in 2025, as the industry gradually adopts higher quality standards to further penetrate markets such as Japan, Europe, Canada and the US.
Speaking at the event, Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of Lefaso, noted that the footwear and leather industry is facing several challenges, including falling prices, quality requirements, sustainability criteria and rising input costs. However, he also highlighted its many advantages, namely abundant labour, a diverse supply of raw materials, investment incentives and, above all, the country’s integration into the global economy through various free trade agreements (FTAs).
Following a decline in exports in 2023 from the previous year’s record levels due to reduced consumption in the US and some European markets (according to the World Footwear 2024 Yearbook), these figures show that the industry is back on a growth path. Overall, the industry is targeting total export revenues of between 38 billion and 40 billion US dollars by 2030.
Source: en.vietnamplus.vn
Image Credits: vietnam.vn