Companies

Brazilian footwear exports rise in the first quarter

Apr 21, 2025 Brazil

Brazilian footwear exports grew in volume and value in the first quarter of the year, but Abicalçados fears a slowdown in this trend in the coming months due to the volatile global environment

According to the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), the country shipped 31.55 million pairs of shoes, valued at 269.8 million US dollars, between January and March. This represents an increase of 14.1% in volume and 6.5% in value over the same period last year.

In March alone, Brazil exported 10.5 million pairs of shoes, worth 95.66 million US dollars, up by 13.3% in volume and 14.3% in value, as compared to the same month of 2024.

The Executive President of Abicalçados said that this growth was mainly driven by shipments to the US and Argentina. However, he warns of the risk of a slowdown in footwear consumption in the US and of the difficulties caused by Argentina’s international reserves.

“The tariff surcharges on imports announced by President Trump should have an inflationary effect in the United States and, consequently, a negative impact on domestic consumption in the market. As for Argentina, the level of international reserves, which is still around 60% below the 2019 level, could be a constraint on the country’s import growth”, he predicts.

Main Destinations

In the first quarter of 2024, Argentina overtook the US as the main export market for Brazilian footwear exports. The neighbouring country purchased 3.58 million pairs of shoes valued at 60.88 million US dollars during the period, an increase of 79.5% in value and 47.4% in volume on a comparable basis with the same quarter of 2024.

Between January and March, the US imported 2.93 million pairs of yellow and green footwear, worth 54.7 million US dollars. This represents a growth of 10.2% and 0.3%, respectively, as compared to the same period of last year.

France returned to the top three of the main destination markets in the first quarter. The European country purchased 849.8 thousand pairs of shoes valued at 10 million US dollars, an increase of 8.1% in volume and 9.1% in value over the same period of the previous year.

Imports

Brazil imported 12.9 million pairs of shoes for 142.33 million US dollars from January to March, up by 25.1% in volume and 13.4% in value, on a comparable basis to the same quarter of 2024. Of these, 5.2 million pairs came from China, up by 18% year-over-year.

The growth of imports from China has been worrying the Brazilian footwear industry for some time. “This invasion is taking place even before the new tariff comes into force. It is expected to increase in the coming months”, warns Haroldo Ferreira.

As China is the world’s largest footwear producer, it “will not be left without an outlet for this production and will have to direct it to other markets, including countries that import our footwear and our domestic market”, concludes Ferreira.

Brazilian Footwear Industry

According to the World Footwear 2024 Yearbook (more information here), Brazil has one of the largest footwear industries in the world, with a substantial domestic market that is largely supplied by local production. In terms of international trade, the country’s footwear exports in 2023 were down significantly from the record levels of the previous year, mainly as a result of a drop in consumption in the US.

Image Credits: Gláuber Sampaio on Unsplash

Brazil Exports Footwear Imports International Trade Organisations