Vietnam: 2013 expected to be tough for footwear exporters |
Next year is expected to be a difficult one for Vietnamese companies that export to the EU, according to Dang Hoang Hai, director of the country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade's European market department. He said across the board, exporting is expected to slow to only 10% growth compared with this year's estimation of 20% growth, caused by the continuing European debt crisis.
However, some industries have fared worse than others. Footwear exports to the EU in the first 10 months rose only 2.2% to $2.08 billion. Other categories have seen rapid growth – such as exports of computers and electronic products, which were up 78% at $1.11 billion.
Truong Thi Thuy Lien, director of Lien Phat Footwear, said she expects next year to be more difficult as the company’s contracts with Europe had declined. Its exports to the continent in the first 10 months were down by about 30%.
The company has looked to Japan to boost orders. “Japanese partners once came to our company, but their requirements were very high. As the EU market is in trouble now, our company is seeking orders from Japan again,” Ms Lien told local press. (23/01/2013) |