São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates bought 560,600 pairs of shoes from Brazil from January to May of this year, according to data released by the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (ABICALÇADOS) this Monday (11). There was a decline of 16.1% over the volume purchased in the same period of 2017, when the Arab country imported 668,000 pairs manufactured in Brazil.
Revenues also went down. The United Arab Emirates spent USD 5.1 million in Brazilian footwear from January to May of this year, 10.6% below the amount spent in last year’s first five months, when purchases totaled USD 5.7 million. In the same comparison, there was an increase in the value of the exported footwear, with the pair going from USD 8.60 to USD 9.15.
Despite the decline, the UAE stands at the 17th position of the ranking of the top exports of the Brazilian product from January to May. Brazil’s largest international market is Argentina, followed by the United States, Paraguay, France, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and the United Kingdom. The UAE is the only Arab country to show up among the 20 major buyers of Brazilian footwear.
Overall, Brazilian footwear exports dropped 4.9% in this year’s first five months over the same period of 2017, from 49.1 million of pairs to 46.7 million of pairs. Regarding revenues, there was a decline of 9.3%, from USD 441.4 million to USD 400.3 million.
In May, there was an even sharper drop in Brazilian footwear exports. They declined 45.6% in value over the same month of 2017, and 32.7% in volume. The sales of 6.3 million pairs yielded USD 56.1 million.
At the end of May, Brazil faced a truckers’ strike, which blocked roads and impacted the country’s exports, obstructing the arrival of inputs to the plants and of products to the ports.
According to a statement by ABICALÇADOS, the strike impacted negatively the sector’s exports. “From the 121 countries that bought Brazilian footwear in May, we saw a decline in 72 of them,” said ABICALÇADOS’ president, Heitor Klein in the statement.
In his assessment, May’s results should frustrate foreign sales forecast for the year. “We had an expectation of surpassing the amount registered in 2017 of USD 1.09 billion in exports, which probably won’t be reached. It was a terrible month,” he stated.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
