São Paulo – Brazilian footwear exports to the United Arab Emirates increased 34% in value from January to July of this year over the same month of 2014 and totaled US$ 14.53 million, according to data released this Thursday (13th) by the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados). <\/p>\n
Sales to the Arab country were higher also in volume. Until July, members of Abicalçados exported 1.3 million pairs to the UAE, or 33.9% more than in the same period of 2014. The pair average value had a slight increase: US$ 11.12 per pair this year, and US$ 11.11 per pair last year.<\/p>\n
The United Arab Emirates are the 11th position among top footwear importers from Brazil in the year. At the 10th position and as the main buyer among Arabs is Saudi Arabia. Between January and July, sales to the Saudis reached US$ 15.05 million, an amount 1.9% higher than the one from the same period of 2014.<\/p>\n
In the case of the Saudis, however, the volume shipped was lower: 1.41 million pairs from January to July or 2.3% less than the 1.44 million pairs of the same period of 2014. In this case, revenues were higher because the price of a pair went up: from US$ 10.21 per pair on average in the first seven months of last year to US$ 10.65 this year.<\/p>\n
Overall, footwear exports are declining. It fetched US$ 544 million or 10.6% less than the US$ 608.7 million exported in the seven first months of 2014. The volume of pairs shipped stood at 65.5 million this year, a drop of 8.8% over last year. The price of the pair at US$ 8.29 on average, declined 2%.<\/p>\n
In a statement released by Abicalçados, the association’s president, Heitor Klein, said that the sector still hasn’t benefited from the dollar appreciation. Revenues are still below those obtained last year because the contracts are signed with three or more months in advance. Thus, the dollar impact hasn’t been noticed yet.<\/p>\n
The expectation is for a recovery in shipment until the end of 2015. “Exporters will be helped by the foreign exchange rate, but also by the recoveries to be made in some of the main markets for Brazilian footwear and by the positive participations in fairs in the second semester”, said Klein.<\/p>\n
The 20 leading buyers of Brazilian footwear until July are the United States, Argentina, France, Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, Australia, Angola, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Peru, Ecuador, Russia, Philippines, Italy, Israel, Uruguay and Cuba.<\/p>\n
In July only, Brazilian footwear exports totaled US$ 80.1 million, a decline of 7.2% over the US$ 86.3 million of revenues from July of last year. The only month of 2015 in which exports overcame the performance of 2014 was March. <\/p>\n
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani<\/strong><\/p>\n