Bolivian footwear under pressure
12/07/2012
In comments in local media, representatives of the footwear production sector have said that imported shoes from Peru are 40% cheaper than locally made footwear, while those from China cost around 70% less.
An economist, Alberto Bonadona, has said that it has become uncompetitive to make any product requiring the input of artisans in Bolivia, even though the country has a good supply of raw materials and skilled workers. One footwear manufacturer, Genaro Torrez, said he had lost all his artisans. “They wanted to become miners instead because they can earn more money that way,” he said. “Meanwhile, footwear from China and Peru is taking the market away from us, and their shoes are not even made of real leather.”
Bolivia’s trade deficit with China is widening. Last year it exported goods worth $330 million to China (mostly minerals and wood), but imported products with a value of $937 million. It imported, from all sources, footwear worth $21million last year, up from $15 million in 2010, according to government figures.
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