According to the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), the country shipped 42.9 million pairs of shoes from January to May, worth 420.14 million US dollars. These figures reflect a decline of 25% in volume and 22% in value, on a comparable basis to the same period of 2023. In May alone, the category’s exports fell by 14.1% in volume (7.33 million pairs of shoes) and by 22.5% in value (76 million US dollars), as compared to the same month of last year.

The Executive President of the association, Haroldo Ferreira, points out that the international market scenario is still very unstable, with the US economy still “skidding” and the economic crisis in Argentina. “These are two of our most important destinations. In Latin America, where other of our main partners are located, the market is also economically unstable. In addition, we must consider the well-known competition from Asian producers, who have normalised their deliveries following the fall in international freight prices. It will be a difficult year for footwear exports”, he concludes.

In the first five months of 2024, Brazil exported 4.38 million pairs of shoes for 87.66 million US dollars to the US, which indicates a decrease of 3.8% in volume and 4.7% in value, as compared to the same period of the previous year. Argentina followed with a 40.6% decrease in volume to 3.9 million pairs and a 25.3% decrease in value to 79.68 million US dollars, on a comparable basis to the first five months of 2023. Paraguay completed the top 3, purchasing 3.22 million pairs, down by 27.3% year-over-year, worth 17.9 million US dollars, down by 12.8% year-over-year.

Employment

Abicalçados also recently published an update on employment data. In the first four months of the year, the footwear industry employed 288 28 thousand people, 4.9% less than in the same period last year.

However, Ferreira believes that a recovery is underway, mainly due to improved sales in the domestic market. “We should end the year with growth of between 2.2% and 3.8% in domestic footwear consumption. As a result, production should increase by between 0.9% and 2.2% in 2024”.

Brazilian Footwear Industry

Brazil possesses one of the largest footwear industries in the world, but given the industry’s scale, its domestic market is primarily supplied by its own footwear industry. According to the World Footwear 2023 Yearbook (more information available HERE), in 2022 the country’s exports experienced a significant boost to reach a new record high of over 1.3 billion dollars.