Of the figure for the first half of the year, exports to the US increased by 30.2 per cent to $2 billion, equal to export earnings from the EU, which saw a growth of 17 per cent. The EU continues to be the largest importer of Vietnamese footwear. Most footwear enterprises had orders up to the end of February next year.
Both foreign direct-invested and local businesses are focusing on the US market. According to statistics from the Office of Textiles and Apparel at the US Department of Commerce, the US imports about 78 per cent of footwear from China and 12 per cent from Vietnam. However, footwear imports from China have fallen steadily since 2010 while imports from other Asian countries, particularly from Vietnam, have increased sharply in recent years as US businesses try to become less dependent on Chinese imports.
According to the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, the industry was likely to fulfill its target of $14.5 billion in exports this year, with an annual growth of 20 per cent set by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2014, Vietnam exported $10.34 billion worth of footwear, a rise of 23 per cent over the previous year, making up 6.89 per cent of the country's total exports. Vietnamese footwear was exported to more than 40 markets, including the US, EU, Japan, China and South Korea. Of the markets, footwear exports to the US registered a yearly growth rate of 26.7 per cent to $3.33 billion. The US market alone made up 32.2 per cent of the country's total footwear exports last year.
