Brazil´s footwear exports grow for second consecutive month

Data from ABICALÇADOS (the Brazilian association of footwear industries) show that in February, exports for the sector totaled US$ 61.58 million, with 9.97 million pairs of shoes shipped. The results are higher both in volume (+ 2.5%) and in revenue (+ 1.1%) compared to January, a month that had already registered strong growth compared to December 2020 (+ 5%). However, when compared to the February 2020 results, the data still points to a decrease of 5.9% in volume and a decrease of 18.1% in revenue. In the first two months of 2021, footwear exports totaled 19.7 million pairs totaling US$ 122.52 million, down 14.7% and 26.4%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

The executive president of Abicalçados, Haroldo Ferreira, explains that the data point to a slow recovery since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. “We had the best results since April last year. However, if we compare it with the first two months of 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic was felt in Brazil, then we can see a setback”, explains the leader.

According to him, the sector should still suffer a fall next month and then start a more substantial recovery. “This is if the immunization process continues around the world and with life returning to normal, especially with regard to the demand for shoes, products that were left in the background during the crisis”, he states.

Destinations
In the first two months of the year, the main destination for Brazilian footwear exports was the United States, to which 2 million pairs were exported for US$ 26.32 million, a 4.7% increase in volume and a 21% decrease in revenue compared to the same period in 2020.

The second-highest demand was from France, where 1.36 million pairs were shipped for US $ 11 million, down 22.9% and 11.7%, respectively, compared to the corresponding period last year.

The third-highest demand was from Argentina, where 1.19 million pairs were shipped for US$ 10.16 million, down 8.3% and 27.1%, respectively, compared to 2020.

Exporting States
Rio Grande do Sul was the main footwear exporter for the two-month period, exporting 4.3 million pairs at US$ 51.75 million, down 14.7% and 26.9%, respectively, compared to 2020.

Ceará was the second busiest exporter, shipping 8 million pairs at US$ 37.56 million, decreases of 17% and 28.5%, respectively, in comparison with the same interval of 2020.

In the third position among the exporters, Paraíba shipped 3.84 million pairs at US$ 8.62 million, down 4.5% and 11.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

China’s imports increased by 22%

Although registering a general decline, footwear imports from China increased by 22.1% in volume in the two-month period when compared to the same period in 2020. Imports of Chinese products totaled 2.2 million pairs for US$ 7.15 million, a drop of 24% in dollars compared to the same period last year. “China recovered earlier from the coronavirus crisis. Now, they are sending their products around the world at prices that are well below market prices, practicing unfair competition”, evaluates Ferreira. He stressed that it is therefore imperative to renew the anti-dumping law against Chinese footwear.

Overall, February footwear imports totaled 1.99 million pairs at US$ 21.8 million, down 20.6% in volume and 24.9% in revenue compared to the same month last year. In the two-month period, imports reached 3.97 million pairs totaling US$ 42.94 million, representing decreases both in volume (-24.8%) and in revenue (-38.1%) compared to the same period last year.

After China, the other main exporters of footwear for the two-month period were: Vietnam (1.18 million pairs totaling US$ 23.34 million, decreases of 49.6% and 41.6%, respectively, compared to the same period last year), and Indonesia (319,260 pairs totaling US$ 5.28 million, decreases of 47.2% and 47.4%, respectively).

In terms of shoe parts – leather, heels, soles, insoles, etc. – imports for the two months totaled US$ 3.5 million, 28.6% less than in 2020. They were shipped mainly from China, Paraguay, and Vietnam.

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