São Paulo – Brazilian footwear exports to the two Arab countries in the list of top 20 buying countries declined year-to-date through October. The Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados) has reported that revenues from exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates dropped 23.4% and 29.8% respectively.
Brazilian manufacturers grossed USD 13.7 million from selling 1.5 million pairs of shoes to Saudi Arabia from January to October. The amount is down 12.9% from the comparable period in 2015. Saudi Arabia was the 12th leading buyer of Brazilian footwear. The average price per shoe pair sold to that country was down 12% to USD 8.67.
The United Arab Emirates placed 13th at 1.3 million pairs and USD 12.7 million in revenue. Shipped volume was down 17.5% with average price dropping 14.9% to USD 9.69.
Despite the weaker exports to Arab countries, the industry saw total exports go up year-to-date through October. Foreign sales revenues reached USD 786.8 million, up 2.7% from January to October 2015. Export volume climbed 0.6% to 97.1 million shoe pairs and the average price increased by 2.1%, as per Abicalçados data.
In October alone, exports fared even better, with revenue up 18.2% and volume up 1.2%. The Brazilian footwear industry shipped 10.2 million pairs of shoes abroad, grossing USD 84.3 million in the process.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
