Business
October 26, 2005
Vietnam's footwear export to US to surge this year
Vietnam's footwear export to the United States will rise 60 percent to some 650 million US dollars this year, predicted the Trade Information Center under the Vietnamese Trade Ministry on Wednesday.
Key items shipped to the market are sports shoes, leather-upper shoes, and cloth-upper shoes, the center said, adding that foreign- invested enterprises contribute most to the footwear export revenue, since they actively promote trade due to financial strength and launch products with well-known brands under subcontracts with overseas firms.
The volume of local sports shoes accounts for more than 65 percent of that of all footwear items exported to the United States. Most of them are produced by the foreign-invested enterprises, and branded Nike, Adidas, Puma and Skechers.
The state should assist domestic shoes producers, especially small-and medium-sized enterprises, in accessing the US market to ensure the sustainable development of the local footwear industry, the center said, adding that the producers themselves should be more creative in designing models, and more active in building their own product brands.
Vietnam reaped 450 million dollars from exporting footwear to the United States in the first nine months of this year, a year-on- year rise of 52 percent. The revenue in September alone surged over 80 percent to roughly 55 million dollars, the center noted.
The United States annually imports nearly 2.124 billion pairs of shoes and sandals worth 16.19 billion dollars. China is the country's biggest footwear supplier with a market share of 70 percent, followed by Italy 7.7 percent, Brazil 6.7 percent, Indonesia 3 percent and Vietnam 2.9 percent, the center said.
Vietnam hopes to reap 3.1-3.3 billion dollars from exporting footwear, mainly to the European Union, the United States and Japan this year. It is estimated to make total footwear revenue of 2.4 billion dollars in the first 10 months, up 10.6 percent against the same period last year.
Source: Xinhua
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