VietNamNet Bridge – The country in the first 10 months of the year exported 269.1 million pairs of shoes, earning US$3.21 billion, down 2 per cent in volume and 16 per cent in value year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The ministry said that based on the current figures, it would be hard for the footwear industry to meet the annual export target of $4.77 billion. Deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association Diep Thanh Kiet said that most of footwear producers had export orders for the rest months of the year, but the industry's export value was forecast to total $4.4-4.5 billion this year. Kiet also said that the export price of footwear products was roughly 3-5 per cent lower than that of the same period last year. Footwear exports to the EU, which represent 60 per cent of Viet Nam's total footwear export market, are also forecast to remain difficult if the European Commission approves the extension the anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes this month.