São Paulo – The study “Footwear Panorama – United Arab Emirates”, prepared by the Brazilian Footwear industry project, shows that Brazil has potential to expand shoe exports to the Gulf country. According to the survey, the UAE imported USD 3.1 billion in footwear in 2023, with China as its main supplier, holding 30% of the market.
Brazilian Footwear is a partnership between the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) to promote Brazilian footwear abroad. The UAE is one of the project’s target markets.
The survey indicates that Brazilian footwear sales to the UAE are below the average of the past ten years. The export record was set in 2015, when Brazil shipped USD 21.8 million and two million pairs. Last year, exports totaled USD 6.78 million, down 2.1% from 2023, with 504,700 pairs exported—a 13.3% drop. The UAE ranked as the 22nd destination for Brazilian exports.
According to Priscila Linck, economist and Market Intelligence Coordinator at Abicalçados, Brazil has not yet regained its market share in the UAE following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 onward and changes in the global trade order, which have intensified again this year.
“The dynamics of the international market have led to heightened competition and greater fragmentation of consumption, chiefly favoring Asian suppliers, which hold the largest share of the lower-priced goods market, and European exporters, who are more prominent in higher value-added segments,” she says.
She says that, despite the challenges, the UAE continues to be a market with a diversified import profile and strong purchasing potential. In addition, Linck notes, the country is a re-export hub. In 2023, the UAE imported USD 3.1 billion worth of footwear but exported USD 1.7 billion.
“Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest footwear producer and the largest in the Western hemisphere, has production capacity across different segments, a high standard of quality, and sustainable practices, which makes it possible to expand its presence in niches where it is still below the local market average, such as leather and textile footwear, strengthening attributes of design and reliability of Brazilian products,” Linck says. She also believes that a stronger Brazilian presence in the UAE market depends on closer ties with importers and on ongoing trade promotion initiatives.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
