Vietnam’s leather and footwear industries have enjoyed a very positive first half in 2004, with exports rising by an impressive 13.8% for the period.

Experts predict earnings of $2 billion by the end of 2004 - a 22% increase on 2003 - and this looks by no means unattainable based on the earnings for the first seven months, which have reached of $1.1 billion.   

The growth has to some extent been attributed to the US market opening up to Vietnam, although the major share of export business is still conducted with Europe. However, there is optimism that the US market can be infiltrated more extensively in the future. With this in mind, manufacturers are looking to invest heavily in increasing production volumes and improving quality.

Despite the positive first half figures, concerns within the industries remain over shortages of materials and skilled labour. This has prompted calls for the government to address these problems and to allocate funds for training centres.

 

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