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2024 is a challenging year for the leather and footwear industry but there is still room to increase exports this year.

To materialize the goal, the sector is determined to expand and diversify market and sustain traditional markets including the U.S. and the EU.

In the first half of this year, export turnover of Viet Nam’s leather footwear was estimated at over US$6.5 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.7 percent.

The U.S. was the biggest importer of Viet Nam's footwear products as it accounts for 35 percent of the total export value, followed by the EU with 26 percent, Japan and South Korea.

So far, Viet Nam has signed 16 trade agreements with major markets around the world, accounting for 60 percent of global trade volume in total.

Viet Nam is home to over 1,000 footwear production factories employing around 1.5 million workers and contributing around 8 percent of the country's GDP./.