Vietnam saw a decline of nearly 7% in footwear exports in the first half of the year, new figures show.
The southeast Asian country earned US$8.1bn exporting footwear in the period from January to June 2020, according to a report published by Xinhua, citing figures issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The decline amounted to 6.7% year-on-year.
Vietnam’s largest importers of footwear included the European Union (EU), the US, and China.
In 2019, the country earned about $18.3bn in footwear exports, the publication noted, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.7%.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which released figures for the clothing industry in the first four months of the year at its annual press conference in May, said some industries saw a “sharp decrease” in manufacturing during the January to April period.
Clothing production was down by 6.3%, compared to an increase of 8.8% in the same period last year. Textile production, meanwhile, edged up by 1.4%, versus 12.1% in the year-ago period.
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By GlobalDataEntering the second quarter, the Ministry said Vietnam’s import and export activities faced “many challenges” due to the sharp decline in goods demand. In April, export turnover of most commodity groups decreased compared to the month prior. Textile and garment exports slumped 31.2% to $1.6bn.
The slowdown in exports led to Vietnam’s import turnover of goods in the first four months of the year to drop by 0.3% to $78.08bn over the same period last year, the figures showed.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade says it has established a working group to develop and implement an action plan to restore and promote industrial and trade development in the new phase of the prevention and control of Covid-19.
