São Paulo – Brazilian footwear exports to the United Arab Emirates keep going up this year. January and February saw 690,700 pairs of shoes shipped, up 167% from a year ago. Sales fetched USD 4.57 million, up 117%, the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados) reported this Monday (11).
The UAE was the 10th biggest buyer of shoes from Brazil in Jan-Feb at 26 million pairs, up 26%. Revenues climbed 16% to USD 183.7 million.
Abicalçados president Heitor Klein said the performance is being driven by the United States, which is Brazil’s single biggest importer. “As a precaution against potential problems brought about by the USA-China trade wars, USA importers are diversifying their footwear suppliers. That is causing our market share to increase,” Klein was quoted in a press release as saying.
February alone saw 11 million pairs shipped from Brazil, up 17.8% year-on-year, with revenue going up 8.8% to USD 84.4 million.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
