Brazilian footwear exports fall 33% between Jan-July 2020 compared to year-ago levels

According to the Brazilian Association of Footwear Industries (Abicalçados), the sector’s expectations that there would be an improvement in footwear exports in July were frustrated.  In the first month of the second half of 2020, Brazilian footwear manufacturers shipped 6 million pairs, generating US$48.78 million, which represents a decreases both in volume (-26.8%) and in revenue (-43.6%) compared to year-ago levels. With this result, the cumulative total for the first seven months of 2020 stands at exports of 49.13 million pairs, with US$379.27 million in revenue – a decrease of 24.5% and 33.1% respectively year-on-year.

The executive president of Abicalçados, Haroldo Ferreira, points out that some of the main international markets for the Brazilian footwear sector, such as the United States and Argentina, are taking longer to get out of the crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic. He points out that the largest foreign market for the Brazilian product, the United States, saw its GDP plummet almost 33% in the second quarter of the year, a historic drop, and that the fact points to a drop in consumption in that country. “We expect to see a 30% year-on-year drop in exports for 2020, with a small improvement only in the last quarter of the year, depending on the results of the main international fair for the sector, Micam Milano, which takes place at the end of this month ”, said the executive.

The main international market for Brazilian footwear, the United States, received 4.97 million pairs, which generated US$48.78 million in the first seven months of the year. This is a 31.1% by volume and 36.8% in revenue compared to the same period in 2019. In July alone, exports to the United States fell 28.2% by volume and 51.7% in value terms compared to July 2019, reaching 571,540 pairs and US$9.32 million in revenue.

Argentina, the second export destination for Brazilian footwear, imported 3.72 million pairs, worth US$37.8 million in the first seven months of 2020. This is a fall of 19.9% by volume and 29.8% in revenue compared to the corresponding period last year. In July, Argentines imported 536,000 pairs, spending US$5.4 million – a decrease by volume (-54.9%) and in revenue (-47.8%) compared to the same month last year.

The third prominent export destination was France, a market that recovered in July, with an increase of 123% in volume (619,500 pair) and 5% in revenue (US$7.3 million) compared to July last year. In the seven-month period, the French imported 3.59 million pairs, worth US$32.4 million, down 4.2% and 2.3% respectively compared to the corresponding period last year.

Asian imports increased

It is worth noting that even with total imports registering slight declines in July (1.7% in volume and 6.5% in revenue), those from Asian countries continue to increase.  In July, 1.98 million pairs were imported, with US$31.54 million generated, representing decreases of 1.7% and 6.5%, respectively year-on-year. Vietnam, Indonesia, and China, which together account for more than 80% of Asian footwear imports, registered a 6.6% increase in their exports to Brazil in the same period. In July, 1.74 million pairs were imported from these three countries. The highlight was China, which registered an increase of 69.4% compared to year-ago levels, totaling 414,000 pairs, which indicates that there may be an avalanche of Chinese products in the coming months in the Brazilian market.

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