São Paulo – Brazilian footwear exports dropped in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to data made public this Tuesday (9) by the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados), 118.34 million pairs were shipped abroad last year, 16.6% less than in 2022. Revenue was 10.8% lower and tallied USD 1.16 billion. Pictured above, a shoe production line.
In a statement, the institution attributed the performance to lower demand from Europe and the United States, the largest customers of Brazilian footwear. Furthermore, Abicalçados said China has resumed its production, increasing international competition and signaling “difficulties in footwear exports.”
“The USA, the leading destination for Brazilian footwear abroad, pushed the numbers even lower. The drop for that market was three times greater than the average,” said the association president, Haroldo Ferreira, in the statement. According to Abicalçados data, the main importers of Brazilian footwear in 2023 were the USA, Argentina, France, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
In December, Libya emerged in the entity’s ranking as the 20th main importer, the only Arab country on the list. The North African nation purchased 72,481 pairs, yielding USD 730,200, a 2,600% increase in revenue and 866% in volume over December 2022.
The released data also mentioned that, in the opposite direction of this commercial trend, Brazil imported USD 442.7 million and 28.3 million pairs in 2023, with an increase of 20.6% in cost and 9. 8% in volume in imports compared to 2022. Vietnam, Indonesia, and China accounted for 80% of the total footwear that Brazil imported.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
