A booth at the ongoing International Shoes and Leather Exhibition at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City. — VNS Photo Xuan Huong
Leather Products exhibition and the Viet Nam International Exhibition on Sewing Machinery opened simultaneously in HCM City on Wednesday.
They have attracted more than 700 exhibitors from 32 countries and territories, including Brazil, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, South Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan.
They are showcasing a range of shoe making and tanning machinery and technologies, automation technologies, chemicals, leather, shoe components and accessories, finished products, and others.
Paolo Lemma, Italy’s trade commissioner, said 32 Italian enterprises that design and manufacture machinery, equipment and technologies for footwear production, leather goods and tanning have introduced their breakthrough products using the most advanced technologies at the International Shoes and Leather exhibition.
He said most of the companies participating in the exhibition have suppliers, agents or representative offices in Viet Nam, and are looking for more opportunities in this market and new partners.
“Exports of Italian footwear and leather machinery and equipment to Viet Nam increased 10 times between 2013 and 2018.
“Italy is Viet Nam’s second largest supplier of machinery and equipment for the footwear and leather industry with a 19 per cent market share, behind China (56.5 per cent) but ahead of South Korea (15 per cent).”
Gabriella Marchioni Bocca, president of the National Association of Italian Manufacturers of Footwear, Leather Goods and Tanning Technologies (ASSOMAC), said: “Viet Nam has become the third largest shoe maker and the second largest exporter in the world. Such an unexpected success can be attributed to the huge domestic and foreign investment in this field as well as the efforts of Vietnamese leather and footwear businesses.”
Organised by Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association and Top Repute Co., Ltd, in collaboration with the Shoes and Leather Association of HCM City and Hien Dat Exhibition and Trading Services Co., Ltd, the exhibitions will also feature a number of seminars on technological innovations on the shoe and leather industries and future fashion trends.
The events, on at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7, will go on until July 12 and are expected to receive more than 10,000 visitors.
Leather and footwear are among the country’s key export items, fetching US$19.5 billion last year. They are expected to rise to $21.5 billion this year. — VNS