São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates’ imports of Brazilian footwear increased 14.8% from January to November of this year from the comparable year-ago period, the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados) reported this Tuesday (15). Revenues stood at USD 19.6 million. Shipped volume was up 12.8% to 1.8 million pairs.
Saudi Arabia, the other Arab country in the list of top 20 Brazilian footwear buyers, stepped down its purchases by 2.6% in revenues and 3.2% in volume shipped. It imported 2 million pairs of Brazilian shoes, at a cost of USD 19.5 million. The country is the 13th leading importer, trailing the UAE at 12th in terms of revenue.
Overall, Brazilian shoe exports dropped 11.3% to USD 840.8 million. Volume shipped was down 7.2% to 106.4 million pairs exported. In November alone, however, Brazilian footwear industry exports grew 4.7% in revenue, to USD 74.3 million, and 2.2% in number, to 9.8 million pairs. Year-on-year in November, exports were up 1.1% in revenue and 1.5% in number.
Year-to-date through November, the top buyer of Brazilian shoes was the United States, followed by Argentina, Bolivia, France, Paraguay, Colombia, Angola, Chile, Peru, Australia and the United Kingdom. Next on the list were the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The United States imported a much higher sum than other buyers: USD 173.9 million.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
