In 2017 Brazil's footwear exports reached 127.13 million pairs and 1.09 billion US dollars. An increase of 9.3% in revenue when compared to 2016 and the best financial result since 2013 (1.095 billion US dollars). In volume, the result for the year is only 1.2% higher than the one recorded in 2016, which shows an increase in the prices for the Brazilian products, especially due to the devaluation of the US currency recorded over the past year.

Looking at the results for the last month of the year, 17.27 million pairs were shipped with a total value of 116.88 million US dollars, reflecting lower results in volume (-3.8%) and revenue (-8.7%) in comparison with the same month of 2016.

According to Heitor Klein, Executive President of Abicalçados, the Brazilian Shoe Manufacturers Association, results could be better if the impact from the exchange oscillation wasn’t as heavy: "We had an exchange rate close to 3.40 Brazilian Real during the year, which fell to 3.20 Brazilian Real. Of course, it had a reflection on the price of our footwear, which became more expensive for foreign buyers. We started the year with an average price of 7 US dollars and ended up trading at almost 9 US dollars".

Mr. Klein continued: "If the exporter competes over the price, their days are counted. In this field, the Asians are unbeatable. That's why it's important to do our homework and improve the productivity inside the factories".

Last year, the main destination for Brazilian footwear was the United States (share of 20% in total) resulting in 11.33 million pairs and a total value of 190 million US dollars, which represented a decline both in pairs (-14.4%) and dollars (-14.2%) compared to 2016.

The second destination was Argentina, buying 11.57 million pairs for 147 million US dollars, up by 22.1% and 31.7%, respectively, compared to 2016. In volume terms, Argentina already surpassed the US as the main destination for Brazilian footwear.

Third destination was Paraguay, to where 14.3 million pairs were shipped, which generated 74.64 million US dollars, a decrease of 1.5% in volume and an increase of 57.4% in revenue, when compared to 2016.