According to the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), last month, Brazil shipped 8.53 million pairs of shoes, generating 98.2 million US dollars. These figures reflect a decline of 18.7% in volume and 5.6% in value, on a comparable basis to May of last year. Furthermore, in the first five months of 2023, exported 57.29 million pairs of shoes, worth 538.4 million US dollars, down by 10.8% in volume and flat in value, as compared to the same period of 2022.

This overall decline was attributed to the devaluation of the dollar - that makes Brazilian footwear more expensive abroad -, the slowdown of the world economy and the increase in Chinese exports, which grew by 20% between March and April alone.

“When the largest player in the world market, which has exported 2.8 billion pairs up to April alone, retakes its space, the tendency is for other producing countries to lose space”, summed Haroldo Ferreira, the Executive President of Abicalçados. Moreover, the devaluation of the dollar against the Brazilian real has caused an increase in the average price of the exported pair. “Finally, we are seeing a slowdown in the world’s economy, especially in the US and some European countries, major footwear consumers”, he concluded.

Destination Markets

From January to May, Argentina took the lead as Brazil's main export market. In this period, the country shipped 6.58 million pairs of shoes, worth 106.6 million US dollars, reflecting a decrease of 3.6% in volume and an increase of 43%, on a comparable basis to the same period of 2022.

The US came in next. The North American country purchased 4.56 million pairs of shoes in the first five months of 2023, generating 92 million US dollars. These figures translate a decline in both volume and value of 54.7% and 37%, respectively, as compared to the same months of the previous year.

In this five-month period, France ranked third among Brazilian's main destination markets, importing 1.63 million pairs of shoes, worth 25.7 million US dollars, down by 60% in volume and 12.5% in value, year-over-year.

Brazilian Footwear Industry

Brazil holds 5^th place among footwear producers worldwide. According to the World Footwear 2022 Yearbook (more information available HERE), the country's footwear industry recovered in 2021 from a difficult 2020, with exports benefiting from increased demand in the US due to the tariffs imposed on Chinese footwear. The domestic market remains depressed, however.