São Paulo –International Shoes, Sportsgoods and Leathergoods Fair Couromoda, to be held from January 12 to 15, in the city of São Paulo, is going to bring together importers from 12 different countries, among them Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The buyers are part of the Brazilian Footwear program, which aims to encourage exports of Brazilian footwear.
The project, which is developed by the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados) in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), is going to count on a delegation of 15 importers from countries that are regarded as strategic for Brazilian footwear. From the Middle East, in addition to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, a buyer will also come from Turkey.
According to information supplied by the Abicalçados, the region is part of Brazilian Footwear’s market expansion strategy. An importer should come from Egypt, for instance, representing company Farahtrade for Trading, which seeks children’s shoes and flip flop sandals in order to increase the volume that it already purchases from Brazil. Out of 40,000 pairs of shoes that the company imported in 2007, 30% came from Brazilian enterprises.
Buyers from Switzerland, Canada, Ecuador, the United States, England, Mongolia and Japan are also expected to participate in the Buyer Project, which is going to place importers in touch with potential shoe manufacturers.
According to the general director at Couromoda, Jeferson Santos, higher value-added Brazilian shoes are very competitive in the international market. “The Arab market, for example, seeks high value-added footwear,” he said.
From January to November, Brazilian sector exports to the Arab market totalled US$ 32.13 million, representing growth of 22.6% compared with the same period of last year. The United Arab Emirates were the leading buyers, with US$ 15.9 million, an increase of 29%. Saudi Arabia imported the equivalent to US$ 5.93 million, growth of 23.3%. The third leading destination was Kuwait, with US$ 3.3 million, a decrease of 8.8%.
Fair
the 36th edition of Couromoda is going to bring together 1,200 exhibitors in an area of 80,000 square metres. The fair is the fourth largest in the world for the segment. In the 2008 edition, 77,000 storeowners, national and international buyers, and sector businessmen visited the event, which generated sales of 6 billion reals (US$ 2.5 billion). “The 2009 edition has all spaces sold out. This is the first year in which we have a waiting list for exhibitors. We are expecting visitors from several different countries,” said Santos.
According to him, the footwear sector is going to be harmed by the international crisis, but should suffer a smaller impact than other sectors. “The dollar is appreciated against the Brazilian currency, and that favours exports. However, we need demand, and that demand is what we are expecting to receive at the fair,” said the general director, who also stated that the sector is prepared to deal with the crisis.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
