Trade

Brazilian footwear industry concerned by surging Chinese imports

Jul 11, 2024 Brazil

The warning comes from Abicalçados. The surge in Chinese footwear imports is causing concern for the Brazilian footwear industry, which continues to see a steady decline in exports

According to the latest data from the Brazilian Footwear Industry Association (Abicalçados), more than 705,000 pairs of Chinese shoes entered the country in June alone, an increase of 261% as compared to the same month last year. China is second only to Vietnam, which exported 57.8% more last month than in June of 2023.

In total, 3.3 million pairs of footwear entered Brazil last month, an increase of 63.7% as compared to the same period last year. In addition, total imports in the first half of the year reached 18.72 million pairs, 11.4% more than in the first semester of 2023.

These figures are causing concern in the Brazilian footwear industry, especially as exports continue to follow the opposite trend. In June, the country shipped 5.5 million pairs of shoes, a decrease of 26.2% on a comparable basis to the same month of 2023. Moreover, 48.45 million pairs of shoes were shipped in the first six months of the year, 25.5% less than in the same period last year.

“Apart from being very unstable, the foreign market is being flooded with Chinese shoes, an unfair competition with any other producing country in the world”, said Haroldo Ferreira, Executive President of Abicalçados, stressing that these shoes are exported at prices below the market price, marketed with unfair trade practices, the working conditions don’t meet international standards and a there is a weak environmental agenda.

Ferreira adds that “the biggest growth in Chinese exports during this period was to Latin American countries, with a 19.8% increase in volume. Latin America is home to some of our most important destinations. The Asian giant is gobbling up our market on the continent”.

In the first half of 2024, Brazilian footwear exports to the US fell by 3.8% year-on-year (5.11 million pairs), to Argentina by 41.4% (4.6 million pairs) and to Paraguay by 25% (3.9 million pairs).

Brazilian Footwear Industry

According to the World Footwear 2023 Yearbook (more information available HERE), the Brazilian footwear industry is one of the largest in the world but supplies mainly its domestic market. However, in 2022, the country’s exports experienced a significant boost to reach a new record high of over 1.3 billion dollars. The United States and several South American countries serve as the main destination markets for yellow and green shoes.

Image Credits: Mike Swigunski on Unsplash

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