São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates increased imports of shoes from Brazil by 19,2% in the accumulated result for this year up to September, according to figures disclosed by the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados). The percentage refers to revenues obtained by Brazilian companies with sales, which totalled US$ 12 million, against US$ 10 million in the same period in 2012. In terms of volume, exports rose over 25.7%, to 848,300 pairs. The country was the 15th main destination for Brazilian shoes abroad, according to the Abicalçados ranking.
Saudi Arabia is also among the 20 main destinations for exports of the Brazilian product, in the 17th position. The Saudis bought more shoes from Brazil than the United Arab Emirates, but the list of sector associates is calculated in terms of revenues. Saud Arabia imported 1.19 million pairs of shoes from Brazil from January to September, which represented revenues of US$ 11.47 million. There was reduction, however, in revenues and in volume sold as against the same period in 2012, by 21% and 6.3%, respectively.
While the Emirates bought shoes at average prices of US$ 14.17 a pair, the Saudis imported lower value added products, at US$ 9.58. Both the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, however, imported Brazilian shoes at lower prices than in the first nine months of last year, when the former had bought shoes for an average price of US$ 14.95 and the latter, US$ 11.36. The reduction was 5.2% and 15.6%, respectively.
The main destination for Brazilian shoes from January to September was the United States, which made purchases of US$ 137.3 million, followed by Argentina, with US$ 98.7 million, and France, with US$ 48.9 million. Brazil had revenues of US$ 808 million with exports of the product to the region, with 0.9% growth over the same months in 2012. In terms of volume, sales rose to 88.3 million pairs, growth of 9.4% over the same period last year.
In September alone, international sector sales generated US$ 87.9 million and dropped 0.6% as against the same month last year. The quantity of pairs shipped was 9.5 million and there was a reduction of 8.5% over September 2012.
*Translated by Mark Ament
