São Paulo – Brazilian footwear exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates dropped in Q1 in comparison to Q1 of last year. According to a balance report of the period released this Tuesday (12) by the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados), between January and March of this year, sales decline both in volume and revenues.<\/p>\n
According to the data, in Q1 of this year Saudi Arabia imported USD 6.5 million in Brazilian footwear, a decline of 17.9% over the same period in 2015. In volume, it bought 607,000 pairs, or 15.9% less than between January and March of 2015. The average price of the footwear sold to the Saudis was USD 10.75%. In Q1 2015 it was USD 11.01.<\/p>\n
In turn, the United Arab Emirates imported 567,800 pairs between January and March, in a total of USD 4.8 million. In volume, the decline was 19% in comparison to the same period of 2015, and in revenues the drop was of 25%. The average price between January and March of 2016 was USD 8.63 per pair. In the previous year, it was USD 9.32.<\/p>\n
The main buyers of Brazilian footwear in the period were the United States, with imports of USD 49.5 million and an increase of 19.2% over Q1 of the previous year. Saudi Arabia was ranked at 8th. The UAE held the 11th position in the top 20 list of buyers.<\/p>\n
Consolidated result<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, exports by the members of Abicalçados declined in March and in Q1. Last month alone, exports totaled USD 79.7 million, or 12.5% less than in March 2015. In volume, 10.5 million of pairs were shipped, or 2.3% less in the same comparison. The average price of the pair declined from USD 8.43 in March 2015 to USD 7.55 in March of this year.<\/p>\n In Q1, revenues with footwear exports totaled USD 226.7 million and were 6.1% less than Q1 2015. In volume, 31.8 million pairs were sold between January and March, 0.5% more than in Q1 2015.<\/p>\n In a statement, Abicalçados’s CEO, Heitor Klein, said that, despite the decline in the comparison from one year to another, exports are increasing in the comparison month to month, which shows a gradual recovery. He said, however, that the foreign exchange oscillation and political instability generate insecurity in the market, which affects negotiations. “In a matter of few months we went from a dollar price of BRL 4 to BRL 3.50. The insecurity generated is huge. Importers wait for the best moment to close the deal, which ends up delaying or even cancelling the shipments”, he said.<\/p>\n *Translated by Sérgio Kakitani<\/strong><\/p>\n