The new coronavirus pandemic keeps impacting the results of Brazilian footwear exports. Data prepared by the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) indicates that 2.7 million pairs were shipped in May, generating 23.9 million US dollars of revenue, and resulting in decreases both in volume (-64.7%) and in value (-66%) when compared to similar month in 2019. With this result, in the first five months of 2020 Brazilian footwear exports totaled 39.53 million pairs and 294.9 million US dollars, declining by 22.1% and 28.7%, respectively, compared to similar period in 2019.

Abicalçados' Executive President, Haroldo Ferreira, highlights this is an expected result as orders have been shrinking since the beginning of the year: "In 2020, we did not have any positive results in relation to 2019, but the decreases became more significant as the months went by. Exports will likely stabilize or decrease less only in the last quarter of the year. The year 2020 will likely end with a setback of 30% in shipments", he foresees.

He underlined that the industry's exports will probably return to the levels registered in the 1980s. According to him, in addition to the declining international demand, impaired logistics and the increasingly fierce competition from Asian manufacturers, whose economies were reactivated long before Brazil, explain the decreased exports.

The main destination of Brazilian shoes in the first five months of the year was the United States, with 3.8 million pairs sold for 57.7 million US dollars, decreases of 32.3% and 32.1%, respectively, compared to the similar period last year. The second destination was Argentina, which imported 2.88 million Brazilian pairs paying 29.47 million US dollars, decreases of 3.8% in volume and of 21.7% in revenues in comparison with the same period in 2019. Completing the three main destinations, France imported 2.68 million Brazilian pairs and paid 19.52 million US dollars, decreases of 17.8% and 10.7%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019.