According to the Brazil-Arab News Agency, the UAE increased its purchases of Brazilian footwear by 24% in the first four months of the year over the same period in 2014.

The percentage refers to revenue generated by Brazilian exports to that Arab country, which went from 6.7 million US dollars from January to April in 2014 to 8.3 million US dollars in the same period this year, according to data released by the Brazilian Footwear Association (Abicalçados).

The volume purchased by the UAE increased by 37% in the period, from 607 600 pairs to 831 700 pairs.

Saudi Arabia is in 7th place on the list of main destinations for Brazilian footwear. Purchases by the Saudis remained stable with 10.9 million US dollars in both periods. There was a decline of 7.3% in volume, from 1.03 million to 961 000 pairs, resulting in higher average price per pair (10.54 US dollars in 2014 to 11.41 US dollars in 2015).

The sales performance to both Arab countries was better than the Brazilian exports in the sector as a whole. As a whole, exports declined 13.9% in revenue and 15.4% in volume.