Leather industry anticipates favourable year in 2018The leather-footwear industry expects a good year in 2018 thanks to several favourable factors, according to Secretary General of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) Phan Thi Thanh Xuan. Workers at My Phong Shoe Company in the southern province of Tra Vinh produce shoes for exports. She particularly underlined the expected signing of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in mid-2018, under which Vietnam’s shoes products exported to the EU will enjoy a gap of 3.5-4.2 percent in tariff compared to other rivals. In 2017, the sector earned 18 billion USD from exports, up 10.7 percent from 2016. Backpacks and handbags earned Vietnam an estimated at 3.3 billion USD last year, accounting for 5.5 percent of global productionVietnam sets a target of earning between 19.5 - 20 billion USD from leather and footwear exports in 2018, up 10 percent from 2017.-VNA

Source: VietNamNet News February 27, 2018 08:37 UTC