São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates have more than doubled its purchases of Brazilian shoes in quarter one (Q1) this year. As per information released by the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados), the Middle Eastern country imported 111% more pairs of shoes in Q1 this year than in Q1 2013. A total of 424,200 pairs of shoes were shipped to the country.
However, the average price per pair dropped sharply, by 37.4%, from US$ 16.99 in Q1 2013 to US$ 10.63 in Q1 2014. As a result, the increase in revenues from exports to the UAE was 32.1% lower than the increase in shipped volume. Revenues stood at US$ 4.5 million.
Saudi Arabia also stepped up its Brazilian shoe imports early this year, by 65% in both volume and export revenue. Revenues from shoe exports from Brazil to Saudi Arabia stood at US$ 7.6 million and 682,900 pairs were shipped, according to Abicalçados. The average price per pair for Saudi Arabia was the same in Q1 this year and last year: US$ 11.2.
Saudi Arabia was the tenth leading export target for Brazilian shoes during the period, and the United Arab Emirates were the sixteenth. The leading importer of Brazilian shoes in Q1 was the United States, followed by France, Angola, Argentina and Russia, in that order. The Emirates and Saudi are the only Arab countries on the list of 20 leading importers of Brazilian shoes.
Overall, exports of Brazilian shoes were up 8.1% in Q1 this year in volume shipped, but down 2.3% in revenues. The average price per exported pair was down 9.7%, according to Abicalçados. Export revenues amounted to US$ 274.6 million in Q1 and 36.1 million pairs were shipped. The average price per pair was US$ 7.59.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
