Vietnam sees Australia as a great market for garments, handbags and leather footwear. Australia boasts of great purchasing power although its population is less than that of the US and Europe. Vietnam is second among the countries exporting footwear products to Australia.

In the first quarter of 2017, two-way trade between Vietnam and Australia reached AUS$1.35 billion. Vietnam exported goods worth AUS$687 million to Australia, up 8.3 per cent, while importing products worth AUS$665 million, down 18.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. During the period under review, Vietnam earned AUS$50 million from footwear exports to Australia, up 24.6 per cent, and AUS$42 million from garment and textile products, up 13.6 per cent.

Australia has a project that teaches Vietnamese companies how to produce higher value products made from Australian wool. They are taught about what yarns to buy, how to dye wool, and finish fabrics or garments made from it. At one time Vietnamese companies had no idea about making garments from wool. They generally used cotton, acrylic and polyester.

The next step in the setting up of wool manufacturing supply chains in Vietnam as Australia is establishing wool spinning plants in Vietnam. The focus will be on raw wool scouring and top-making, enabling greasy wool to be sold and exported directly from Australia.