Vietnam earns 1.8 bln USD from footwear exports in first five months

Vietnam's export turnover of footwear in the first five months of this year went up 8.6 percent year-on-year to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs on Thursday.

Last month, the country pocketed 415.29 million U.S. dollars from selling its footwear to the world market, an increase of ten percent compared to a month earlier, said the department.

In the first four months, major importers of Vietnamese footwear were the European Union (EU), the United States, Japan, Mexico and Canada.

Though Vietnam's footwear exports recorded an increase in this period, local shoe makers are facing with obstacles resulting from rising prices of input materials and strict trade regulations imposed by some importers such as the EU, Peru and Turkey.

To boost stable growth and competitiveness in the global market, domestic businesses should focus on reducing cost, improving footwear design, and expanding export markets, said the local insiders.

Last year, due to impacts of global economic downturn, Vietnam' s export turnover of footwear fell 14.7 percent year-on-year to stand at 4.07 billion U.S. dollars, said the department.