HANOI, Jul 16 (NNN-VNA) – Export revenue of Vietnamese leather, footwear and handbag sector, is predicted to hit 26-27 billion U.S. dollars this year, on the basis of the positive results seen so far, the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association was cited as saying.
Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, the association’s vice president and general secretary, said that, Vietnam had focused on five major markets, namely the United States, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China.
Along with maintaining its shares in traditional markets, the sector is working to expand to others, especially those with a free trade agreement with Vietnam, she said.
The sector’s exports exceeded 6.5 billion dollars in H1, up 5.7 percent over the same period last year, according to the association.
Vietnam’s large-scale leather and footwear sector has more than 1,000 factories and about 1.5 million workers, making the contribution of about eight percent to the national gross domestic product.
According to experts, the sector has remained attractive to foreign investors, thanks to an abundant and low-cost labour force.– NNN-VNA
