HANOI: Vietnam targets to earn around $20 billion from the export of footwear, bags and suitcases in 2018. Positive signs in the global economy and rising consumption demand would create favourable conditions for domestic firms in exports and investment, according to Vietnam Leather,
Buoyed by an encouraging export performance last year, the industry sees these targets as achievable keeping in view a positive market forecast for 2018, Lefaso chairman Nguyen Duc Thuan told a conference in Ho Chi Minh City recently. Lefaso estimates the industry will grow by 5 per cent over last year, with the localisation rate reaching 55 per cent, according to a report by a Vietnamese news agency. Footwear will remain among the country’s top four exports and handbags will remain among the top 10. In 2017, the sector managed to earn $18 billion from exports, up 10.7 per cent year-on-year amid the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific- Partnership. Of the total export value, footwear accounted for $14.67 billion, while bags and suitcases comprised $3.26 billion.
