São Paulo – Brazil exported 14.63 million pairs of shoes last January for USD 117.9 million, the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) said. Exports posted a an increase of 4.5% in volume and 16.6% in value from a year earlier.
Abicalçados reported that shipments decreased to the United States and Argentina, which are historically the largest markets for Brazilian footwear. But this has been compensated by the growth in sales to the European Union, which were up by 29% in revenue and 27.9% in pairs.
“Slowing inflation in the region tends to gradually benefit the consumption of non-essential goods”, Abicalçados executive president Haroldo Ferreira was quoted as saying, pointing out that the IMF revised up the projected economic growth of the Euro zone from 0.5% to 0.7% in 2023.
Despite the decline in purchases, the US remains the top destination for Brazilian destination overseas in January at 1.26 million imported shoes for USD 23.4 million. Bolivia surpassed Argentina and became the second largest destination of Brazilian footwear. Then came Argentina and Spain as leading buyers.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
