São Paulo – Brazilian footwear exports to Arab countries slowed in Q1 2020, with shipped volume down 14.6% year-on-year to 2.5 million pairs of shoes, and revenue sliding 11.1% to USD 14.73 million.
Sales to the UAE alone declined even more, by 65.5% to 253,400 pairs and 55,1% to USD 2.25 million. The numbers are from the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados).
Overall exports
Total Brazilian footwear exports from Brazil fetched USD 240.9 million in Q1, down 9.4%, at 32 million pairs sold, down 8.5%.
March alone saw 8.9 million pairs of shoes shipped abroad, down 2% year-on-year, with sales grossing USD 74.2 million, down 11.2%.
Abicalçados chairman Haroldo Ferreira was quoted in a press release as noting that the global Covid-19 crisis slowed down international demand for non-staples, such as shoes. The leading destinations for Brazilian footwear remain the United States, Argentina and France.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
