According to the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), from January through July, Brazil shipped 86.87 million pairs of shoes, which generated a 763.4 million US dollars revenue. These figures reflect an increase of 64.8% and 31.8% in value and volume, as compared to the same period of 2021. In the sole month of July, the country sent abroad 12 million pairs of shoes (up by 35.3%), worth 111.84 million US dollars (up by 50.8%), on a comparable basis to the same month of last year.  

Abicalçados' Executive President, Haroldo Ferreira, pointed out that Brazil has benefited from the increase in maritime freight costs, prompting Latin American buyers to source closer to their markets, moving out from Asia. Between January and July, exports to Latin American countries rose by 76.3% in value and by 39.3% in volume, as compared to the same period of 2021. The region "represented 44% of the pairs exported by Brazil in the first seven months of the year. Among the top 10 destinations, seven are from Latin America", he highlighted.

Main destinations

The US remains the main destination for yellow and green footwear. In the first seven months of 2021, 13 million pairs of shoes were shipped to the US, generating 208.3 million US dollars. These numbers reflect an increase of 67.3% in volume and 90.7% in value, on a comparable basis to the same period of last year. The North-American country imported 1 million pairs of shoes in July, worth 26.5 million US dollars, down by 25% in volume and up by 24.9% in value, year-over-year.

Despite Argentine’s Central Bank's decision to authorize the settlement of imports only after 180 days, Brazilian footwear continues in large demand in Argentina, Brazil's second export market. During these seven months, Argentina purchased 10.2 million pairs (up by 66.8%), worth 109.8 million US dollars (up by 91%). On July, 2 million pairs were shipped, generating a revenue of 19.13 million US dollars, which reflects a growth of 94.2% and 105.0% in volume and value, respectively, as compared to July 2021.

Next came France, importing 4.87 million pairs of shoes (up by 21.4%) in this seven-month period, worth 40.9 million US dollars (up by 19.6%), on a comparable basis to the same period of the prior year. The month of July recorded a decline in both volume and value, as Brazil shipped 276.4 thousand pairs to France (down by 57.7%), at the value of 4 million euros (down by 34.3%).

Brazilian Footwear Industry

According to the World Footwear 2022 Yearbook (more information available here), Brazil ranks number 5 among footwear producers worldwide. After a difficult period in 2020, the footwear industry recovered in 2021 encouraged by exports that have benefited from increased demand in the USA due to the tariffs imposed on Chinese footwear. Nonetheless, the Brazilian home market is still depressed, and imports were the lowest in a decade.