São Paulo – Despite the favorable dollar price, Brazilian footwear exports declined 12.2% in the first five months of the year over the same period in 2014, according to information released this Friday (12th) by the Brazilian Association of Footwear Manufacturers (Abicalçados). The percentage refers to revenues drop, which stood at US$ 385.4 million.
There was also a drop of 14% in the volume shipped abroad. In all, 47.8 million pairs were sold from January to May. “The increase that we could’ve had with the appreciated dollar was toned down by the competitiveness of the Brazilian industry, especially because of the drop in the Reintegra tax return and the cost increase proposed by the adjustment of the federal government”, said Abicalçados’s president, Heitor Klein, in a press release by the company.
In May alone, sales also dropped over the same period of last year. The decline was of 7.4% of the income, which stood at US$ 75 million, and of 10% in volume, which dropped to 8.5 million pairs. Over April, however, there was an increase in both revenues and quantity.
The ten countries that bought the most footwear from Brazil in the five first months of the year together were United States, France, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Angola and Chile. The United Arab Emirates was at 11th place on the list and, with the Saudis, are the only Arab pair to be part of the top 20 world ranking of main destinations of Brazilian footwear.
Sales to Saudis dropped in revenues and volume, 1% and 8%, respectively, and exports for the UAE increased 33% in value and 25 in quantity.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
