The Brazilian Association confirmed that in spite of the instability and uncertainty felt in several markets, exports of materials in the leather-footwear sector reached 152 countries in the period January to September 2015.  In September, exports of the industry had amounted to 72.3 million US dollars, decreasing by 11.6%, compared to similar month last year, when the value of the exports totaled 81.7 million US dollars.

“It’s important for us to be attentive to all economic movements and trends in the domestic and foreign markets, so that our industry is cautious when it comes to investing and managing its capital”, commented Assintecal’s President Mr. William Marcelo Nicolau.

Germany was the country that showed the sharpest decline in imports of Brazilian materials, which fell to 3.5 million US dollars from January to September 2015 compared to similar period last year.  Nevertheless, the German market remains the third main destination of the exports made by the Brazilian leather-footwear sector, accounting for 8.2% of the total.  Other countries that reduced their imports from Brazil in the same period were Spain (- 9.8 million US dollars) and Venezuela (- 9.6 million US dollars).

Argentina, currently Brazil’s main trading partner with a share of 24.9%, increased its imports by 12.3 million US dollars from January to September this year. Other countries that also increased their purchases from Brazil in the same period were India (9.6 million US dollars) and Turkey (7.0 million US dollars).