Vietnam raked in nearly 12.1 billion U.S. dollars from exporting footwear between January and September this year, witnessing a year-on-year decline of 8.8 percent, according to the country's Ministry of Industry and Trade on Tuesday.

The largest importers of Vietnam's footwear products included the European Union, the United States and China.

Over the period, the country also earned over 2.3 billion U.S. dollars from exporting handbags, wallets, suitcases, hats and umbrellas, down 16.9 percent from the same period last year.

In 2019, Vietnam reaped nearly 18.3 billion U.S. dollars from exporting footwear and over 3.7 billion U.S. dollars from handbags, up 12.7 percent and 9.9 percent year on year respectively, according to the country's General Statistics Office.