Vietnam: exports to EU and US could drop 20%
The director of a Vietnamese footwear firm has said that the country’s footwear industry is facing several problems including a fall in export orders and dearth of manpower. Truong Thi Thuy Lien, director of Lien Phat Co Ltd was speaking at a seminar aimed at finding ways for the industry to rise above these challenges.
The seminar was organized in the HCM City by the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association and Dun&Bradstreet, a business information provider.
Ms Lien stated that the mindset of the people in the EU and the US was greatly influenced by the public debt crisis in these countries, which has led to a fall in export orders. She stated that the exports to the US and EU markets are likely to witness a 15 to 20% drop during the first quarter of 2012 as compared to exports clocked during the corresponding period of the current year.
The director also said that the footwear industry is also facing a labour scarcity, meaning that several footwear producers in the country are finding it difficult to fulfil export orders, while some others are hesitant to sign new deals.
Ms Lien and other speakers at the seminar said the high cost of raw materials is also a problem faced by the Vietnamese footwear exporters. She said that in order to rise above these adversities, her firm has streamlined the production, slashed all unnecessary expenses and reassessed its investment portfolio.
