[16 December 2016] — Economica Vietnam organized a study tour for a Nepalese delegation including representatives from the Government of Nepal and representatives from the footwear sector of Nepal to learn the good practices in the footwear value chain in Vietnam from 26 November to 3 December 2016.  

The study tour is organized under the Nepal-German Trade Promotion Programme – a project implemented under the guidance of the Nepalese Ministry of Commerce and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, acting on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Programme entered into the extension phase from August 2015 for additional period of two and half years pursuing the objective to implement the revised Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) in a more effective and successful way. 

Footwear is one on the new products listed in the export priority list of NTIS due to its growing production and potentiality to enter into international market. The footwear sector is one of the 12 priority sectors within the NTIS. It is like other export sectors in Nepal, not very well developed. The total annual footwear production in Nepal is estimated to be 30 million pairs. The footwear produced in Nepal can be broadly divided into four categories: insert shoes, sports shoes, hiking shoes and backpack boots.  

The NTIS 2016 targets to increase production of footwear from 30 million pairs to 45 million pairs and increase exports from 7.8 million pairs to 12 million pairs by 2020 through nine short-term and two medium-term actions. Nepal has a total of 206 companies registered as footwear and leather goods manufacturing companies with the Company Registrar’s Office and 850 footwear manufacturing enterprises registered with the Department of Cottage and Small Industry (DCSI) and Cottage and Small Industries Development Board (CSIDB).  

Through the study tour, Economica Vietnam assisted members of the delegation to learn from good practices in Vietnam, which is one of the largest exporters of footwear. This would contribute to the implementation of the NTIS, enabling Nepal to unleash its huge potential on the further development, footwear production and footwear export of Nepal.  

During the study visit, the delegation met with Ministry of Industry and Trade, Viettrade, major footwear associations such as Shoes and Leather Association (SLA), the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso), Footwear Product Development Center, major footwear producers and exporters, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Department of Planning and Investment, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Business Association, Department of Industry and Trade among other organizations and sites.  

In addition to learning and experience sharing,  Economica Vietnam also helped business sector representatives in the delegation to set up business linkage with Vietnamese footwear producers and exporters for future business opportunities.  

Promoting cross-country learning, sharing of knowledge on development issues is an area on which Economica is laying an increasingly strong emphasis.