Trade

Brazilian footwear exports remain under pressure

Sep 17, 2026 Brazil

Brazilian footwear exports continued to decline in August, with falls in both volume and value. Year-to-date figures also remained negative, while imports continued to increase

The latest data compiled by the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) and based on figures from Secex, shows that the country exported 7.13 million pairs of shoes in August, worth 70.8 million US dollars. This represents respective declines of 6.6% and 8.1% compared to August 2025.

Cumulative data indicates that, in the first eight months of 2026, Brazil exported a total of 62.45 million pairs of shoes, generating 541.45 million US dollars, which represents respective year-on-year decreases of 7.5% and 16.8%.

According to Abicalçados, these were the worst results since 2020, a year that was affected by the pandemic. Executive President Haroldo Ferreira attributed this weak export performance to developments in Brazil’s two leading international footwear markets: the US and Argentina.

“Year-to-date, the US and Argentina account for a loss of 111 million US dollars in exports compared to the same period last year”, he emphasised. “In the United States, we are still feeling the effects of the tariff increase, while in Argentina, consumption is falling and footwear from Asia is becoming more prevalent, driven by the reduction in tariffs on non-Mercosur products”, he added.

Main Destinations

Nevertheless, the US remained the leading destination for Brazilian footwear in August. The country shipped 1.13 million pairs, which was a 40.5% increase compared to August 2023. However, in value terms, exports declined by 9.2% to 19.42 million US dollars.

This reflected a 35.4% decline in the average price of footwear exported to the US, which fell to 17.20 US dollars per pair. Ferreira attributed this development to a stronger decline in higher-value product categories, particularly leather footwear, changes in the sales mix, and the fact that August 2025 was used as the comparison base.

Between January and August, exports to the US totalled 7.38 million pairs, worth 120.5 million US dollars. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 4.1% in volume and 22.8% in value.

Exports to Argentina also decreased, with Brazil shipping 1.25 million pairs of shoes worth 11.5 million US dollars in August. This represented a year-on-year decline in volume of 23% and in value of 37.6%. In the first eight months of the year, shipments totalled 4.52 million pairs, worth 60.3 million US dollars, representing respective declines of 51.6% and 55.6%.

Paraguay was Brazil’s third-largest footwear export destination in August. Compared to August 2025, the volume of shipments declined by 22.3% to 681.2 thousand pairs, while their value increased by 21.1% to 5.2 million US dollars. Year-to-date exports totalled 5.4 million pairs, worth 31 million US dollars, a 9.4% fall in volume, but a 12% increase in value.

Imports Upward Trend

Footwear imports into Brazil continued to increase in the first eight months of the year. The country imported 33 million pairs, worth 429.7 million US dollars, which reflects an increase of 9.6% in volume and 11% in value compared to the same period in 2025. China, Vietnam, and Indonesia remained the main sources of imported footwear, accounting for around 80% of pairs entering Brazil.

Brazilian Footwear Industry

The World Footwear 2026 Yearbook (more information available HERE) indicates that Brazil remains home to one of the world’s largest footwear industries. In 2025, production reached approximately 848 million pairs, while export value remained stable at around 958 million US dollars, with volume increasing to 104 million pairs. Imports continued to rise, reaching 606 million US dollars.

Image Credits: latinamericancargo.com

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