In the first six months of this year, the sector’s exports exceeded USD 6.5 billion, up 5.7 percent over the same period last year.

LEFASO Vice President and General Secretary Phan Thi Thanh Xuan said Vietnam has focused on five major markets, namely the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China.

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She said that along with maintaining its shares in traditional markets, the sector is working to expand to others, especially those with a free trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam.

The official underlined that with its great capacity, the sector will focus on the mid- and high-end product segments in the time to come.

Experts held that Vietnam has considerable competitive advantages thanks to a wide network of FTAs which covers 60 percent of the global trade volume, and a large-scale leather and footwear sector with more than 1,000 factories and about 1.5 million workers as well as a contribution of about 8 percent to the national GDP. The sector has remained attractive to foreign investors thanks to an abundant and low-cost labor force.

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However, Xuan said that the increasingly strict standards in green and sustainable development as well as traceability in major markets of Vietnamese footwear will make it tough for the sector in the future, requiring exporters to make good preparations in technology and finance to adapt to.

She advised leather and footwear firms to make full use of the FTAs, especially the EU-Vietnam FTA and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to increase exports.