Bags / Shoes & Accessories

According to customs data, in the first seven months of this year, the foreign trade export of Vietnam's leather and footwear industry increased by 13%, earning more than 14 billion US dollars in foreign exchange. This growth rate is quite balanced in major markets, such as 24% in the North American market and 17.5% in the European Union.

It is worth noting that Vietnam’s export of footwear for international trade that has joined the FTA market continued to show a positive recovery.

According to customs data, exports to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement member countries increased by 18.2% year-on-year, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) member countries increased by 10.5%. Exports to the UK market under the UK Free Trade Agreement rose 10.9%.

In assessing the prospects of the leather and footwear market in the second half of the year, Pan's youth said that in addition to opportunities, there will be many challenges. The impact of the international situation, especially the major international trade export markets of Vietnam's leather and footwear such as the EU and the United States, is experiencing the impact of consumption crunch, which will definitely affect purchasing power.

In terms of foreign trade export markets, Vietnamese products are at a medium level in terms of quality and price. To compete, the industry needs to produce higher-value products. For this, high-value raw materials must be imported from other countries.

Under the pressure of the rules of origin of the international trade free trade agreement, the localization rate of Vietnam in the leather and footwear industry has increased significantly. Customs data shows that it has reached 55%, especially sports shoes, which has reached 70-80%.

The industry has also set a goal of gradually increasing the overall localization rate of the entire industry to 70-80% in the future. However, Pan’s youth also acknowledged that the industry still faces difficulties in the investment and production of raw materials, such as the need to import billions of dollars of leather products every year because the products are subject to strict environmental regulations. This is also a restrictive factor for Vietnam's leather and footwear industry to increase the localization rate in recent times.