São Paulo – Two Arab nations are among those that pay most for Brazilian shoes abroad. Of the five Arab nations that import higher value-added Brazilian shoes, two are Arab countries in the Middle East. One of the countries is Oman and the other is Qatar. Oman imported shoes with the fourth highest average price per pair in August: US$ 75.93. Qatar was the fifth. The country paid on average US$ 64.96 a pair in August.
Ahead of them are only Monaco, in the first place, with imports for an average price of US$ 183.25, Austria, paying US$ 86 per pair and Slovenia, US$ 80.50. The figures, referring to August, were provided by the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados). The secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, said that the higher per capita income is the main reason for Oman and Qatar to be included in the list.
Alaby explained that Brazilian shoes have great quality, design and comparable durability with Italian and Swiss shoes – considered the best worldwide – but better prices. According to the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, in Arab countries with higher income, both men and women seek products with higher quality. He recalled that women wear luxury products under their abayas.
Despite being among the countries that purchase higher-priced shoes from Brazil, Oman and Qatar did not import significant volumes of the product. In August this year, Oman bought 189 pairs of shoes from Brazil and Qatar purchased 164 pairs. The value of purchases was US$ 14,300 in Oman and US$ 10,600 in Qatar. The same takes place with the other three importers, Monaco, Austria and Slovenia: the volumes bought are low.
Other Arab countries bought many more shoes from Brazil. This is the case with the Emirates, the 27th main buyer in August. The country paid US$ 532,000 for 52,000 pairs. The average price paid, however, was US$ 10.23. The Middle East, as a whole, imported Brazilian shoes for an average price of US$ 9.61 from January to August. Africa, where there are also Arab countries, purchased shoes for an average price of US$ 5.13 a pair in the period.
*Translated by Mark Ament
