HCM CITY — A wide variety of shoe making and tanning machinery and technologies, chemicals, leather and other materials, shoe components and accessories, and finished products are on display at the 20^th International Shoes and Leather Exhibition that opened in HCM City on July 11.

Shoes and Leather Vietnam has attracted more than 700 exhibitors from 26 countries and territories, including 16 pavilions from Brazil, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan and others besides host Việt Nam.

The Council for Leather Exports of India is participating with more than 30 member companies to promote their products.

There are 26 Italian enterprises comprising designers, manufacturers of machinery and equipment for footwear production, leather goods, and chemicals for leather and footwear production at a pavilion hosted by the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Association of Manufactures of Machinery for Footwear, Leather goods, and Tannery (ASSOMAC).

Paolo Lemma, the Italian trade commissioner to Việt Nam and director of the Italian Trade Commission office in HCM City, said most of the participating companies already had suppliers, agents or representative offices in the country.

They were looking for further opportunities in this emerging market and tie-ups with Vietnamese enterprises, he said.

“Việt Nam has become an important market for Italian firms.”

Exports of machinery and equipment for the footwear and leather industry to Việt Nam doubled to over 30 million euros (US$35.49 million) last year, he said.

Fabrizio Bellagamba, Far East area manager at Comelz, which supplies CNC cutting machines to the bag and shoes industries, said his company’s sales in Việt Nam grew by 40 per cent in terms of machines sold last year, the highest in any market.

Gabriella Marchioni Bocca, president of ASSOMAC, said in the past couple of years, the presence of Italian enterprises with their exclusive capabilities supported the development of the Vietnamese leather and footwear industry.

“The strength of Italian enterprises is not only product quality but also the flexibility to meet the demand of customers. Such an element helps Italian companies compete in the market.”

The three-day expo is being held together with the International Footwear and Leather Products Exhibition, and Vietnam International Exhibition on Sewing Machinery at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7.

Leather and footwear are among Việt Nam’s key export items, fetching $17.93 billion last year. Exports are expected to rise to $19.5 billion or even more this year. — VNS