US no longer main market for Brazilian exports

Argentina purchased 11.8 million pairs of Brazilian shoes worth over USD 185 million in the first nine months of 2023.

New figures reveal that Argentina has surpassed the US as the main destination for Brazilian footwear exports. According to Abicalçados (the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association), the country shipped over 90.6 million pairs of shoes between January and September 2023, which generated almost USD 907.2 million (GBP 747.4 million). Although these figures reflect a 16 per cent fall in volume and a drop in value of 8.4 per cent compared to the first nine months of 2022, they represent a growth of 6.1 per cent in volume and 23.7 per cent in value when they are viewed against pre-pandemic levels.

Between January and September, neighbouring Argentina purchased 11.8 million pairs of Brazilian shoes worth close to USD 185.4 million (GBP 152.7 million). This was a decrease of 11.7 per cent in volume but a growth of 27.6 per cent in value as compared to the similar period in 2022. In comparison, Brazil exported 7.9 million pairs of shoes to the US in the first nine months of 2023. This generated USD 174 million (GBP 143.3 million) – a decline of 48.4 per cent in volume and 35.7 per cent in value compared to the same period of the previous year.

“Footwear exports have been falling since the beginning of the year due to macroeconomic factors and also because last year’s base was very strong,” stated Abicalçados’ executive president, Haroldo Ferreira. “In 2023, factors such as China’s strong return to the market, the normalisation of freight prices, the slowdown in the world economy – especially that of our main destination (the United States) – and the rise in inflation hurt our performance,” he added.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the November 2023 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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