According to Abicalçados, the Brazilian Footwear Association, the higher dollar started to impact Brazilian footwear exports. With an average price of 6.87 US dollars per pair, exports of footwear in the month of September generated 81.76 million US dollars, up by 18.5% compared to the previous month (69 million US dollars). Notwithstanding this performance in the month od September, the exports value is still below what was registered in similar period last year (below 9.3% the value in September 2014).

As a result, accumulated exports revenue between January and September, totaled 694.8 million US dollars, 11.9% below similar period last year.

According to Heitor Klein, President of Abicalçados the recovery recorded in September is already a sign of better exchange quotation. "As the exporter has costs in local currency, with the higher dollar he can form a more competitive price in the international market," he explained, adding that the most substantial recovery should occur in the last month of the year and early 2016, with the arrival of the summer collections traded in August and September.

Mr. Klein continued: "Footwear had good results in international fairs with the spring-summer collections. That, coupled with the rise of the dollar, should improve the levels of exports at the end of the year and especially in the first half of 2016". However, as the export losses were too big in the first half, Abicalçados believes the industry will hardly reach the 2014 figures of 1.067 billion US dollars.

For the first nine months of 2015, the main destination of the Brazilian footwear were the US with shipments of 7.7 million pairs, valued at 137 million US dollars. Argentina followed in the top of main destinations for footwear, with exports to the neighbour country reaching 6.2 million and 53 million US dollars, 20.3% below similar period in 2014. In the third position is France, which bought 6.24 million pairs for 41 million US dollars, 13.9% less than in the same period in 2014.