Vietnam earned $20.2 billion from footwear exports in 2023, becoming the world’s second-largest exporter, with export volumes accounting for 10 per cent of global market share, figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show.

Revenue, however, was down 15.3 per cent compared to 2022, the Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) online newspaper reported.

Vietnam exported footwear products to more than 150 markets around the world, with key markets being the US, the EU, China, Japan, and the UK.

The US, China, and Belgium were the three largest markets. The US spent over $7.1 billion on importing footwear from Vietnam, followed by China with $1.8 billion and Belgium with $1.2 billion.

Vietnam’s footwear industry has set a target of earning annual revenue of $38-40 billion by 2030.