At the recently held ‘Shoe and Leather Fair 2016’ in Vietnam, which showcased a comprehensive range of fashionable footwear, leather goods, accessories, 41 Indian firms exhibited their innovations.
On the sidelines of the event, a meeting was organised where Diep Thanh Kiet, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (VLFHA) stressed on increasing leather imports from India. He mentioned that each year Vietnam imports billions of đồng worth of leather from other countries, but not India.
Last year Vietnam imported US $ 5 billion worth of leather and accessories, and only five per cent of it came from India, which is the second largest global producer of leather and footwear. Kiet said that more steps should be taken to fortify trade between the two countries. In tune with the VLFHA’s Vice Chairman, Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman of India’s Council for Leather Exports urged Vietnamese footwear companies to grab the opportunity that India has to offer, including a young and skilled workforce at competitive wages, raw material, etc.
Vietnam exports about 850 million pairs of shoes every year but faces a severe shortage of raw materials, especially processed leather, and Indian manufacturers aim to fill this gap by increasing exports of raw leather to the country.
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It may be mentioned here that leather and footwear exports from India to Vietnam have reportedly seen a rise from US $ 40.66 million in 2009-2010 to US $ 117.07 million in 2014-2015. The latest statistics show that in the second half of last year, exports rose to US $ 84.5 million.
The leather and footwear industry is among the top 10 foreign exchange earners for India, which currently stands at US $ 6.5 billion and is expected to reach US $ 12 billion mark by 2020.
