US eyes Nicaragua as footwear supplier
The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), in its recently published 2012 Annual Footwear Sourcing Forecast, named Nicaragua as a ‘rising star’ with great potential to increase its footwear exports to the US.
According to the 2012 forecast, US footwear imports from China accounted for 85.3% of all US footwear imports in 2011, the lowest market percentage in seven years.
The US should therefore seek to restructure its sourcing strategies and options, the report states, due to China’s increasing prices, shortages in labour and increased compliance costs, and “keep an eye on Cambodia, Bangladesh and Nicaragua”.
Additionally, the report mentions that imports into the US will continue to grow from $22.7 billion in 2011 to $25.2 billion by 2016, which gives room for emerging sources, such as Nicaragua, to substantially increase its exports into the country.
Due to the positive development and investment opportunities in Nicaragua’s footwear manufacturing sector, the country will be hosting an international forum titled ‘Nicaragua, The Right Step’, on 13-14 June in the city of Managua. The event will give participants the opportunity to learn why the country has become an attractive and increasingly competitive production platform for the footwear industry.
