In value terms, however, there was a 6% decrease in the same comparison, totalling 78 million US dollars, mainly driven by the average price of the shipped product, which decreased by more than 12%. Looking at the result for the first 8 months of the year: a total of 76.66 million pairs with a total value of 644 million US dollars were exported, translating a 8.2% increase in volume and a 2.5% increase in revenue in comparison with the same period last year.

Abicalçados' Executive President, Haroldo Ferreira, underlined once again the impact of currency fluctuations, as the appreciation of the dollar, making the prices of Brazilian shoes more competitive abroad: "As industry costs are in reais, when the dollar appreciates we have the possibility of setting lower prices". He underlined the 15% increase in shipments of flip-flops in the eighth month of the year, which has a great impact on the overall result, considering that 50% of the volume exported by Brazil is from this segment. According to the same source, in August the average price of exported shoes was 8.24 US dollars, while in the same month of 2018 the price was 9.10 US dollars.

Trade war

With imports of 748.58 thousand pairs for which 15.63 million US dollars were paid, the United States was the main international buyer in August, with an 18% increase in pairs and a 5.8% increase in revenue compared to 2018. Over the first eight months of the year, Americans total 8 million imported pairs, for which 135.87 million US dollars were paid; representing 32% and 35.4% increases, respectively, when compared to the previous year. Ferreira reiterates that the development is expected and will likely continue to occur until the end of the year, especially due to the trade war between the United States and China, which has been making the Asian product more expensive with extra import tariffs. "Traditionally, 70% of US footwear imports are from China. With the new tariffs, US importers have been seeking alternative suppliers, making room for our product", he concluded.

The second destination abroad, despite the domestic crisis, is still Argentina. In August, Argentines imported 1.12 million pairs, for which 11 million US dollars were paid, a 38% decrease in volume and a 29% decrease in revenues in relation to the corresponding month last year. As a result, in the eight-month period, Argentines imported 5.76 million pairs and paid 65.73 million US dollars, a 30.6% decrease in volume and a 36.5% decrease in revenues in relation to the same period of 2018.

France

The third most important destination for Brazilian shoes. In August, the French imported 1.18 million pairs, for which 6.36 million US dollars were paid, an almost 300% increase in volume and a 52.4% increase in revenues in relation to the same month of 2018. With the result, France imported 4.93 million pairs and 39.5 million US dollars in total, a 23.4% increase in volume and a 1.2% decrease in dollars in relation to last year.