Leather footwear worries
The Brazilian shoe industry increased its exports by 12.7% in the first two months of this year in comparison with the same period in 2007. A total of 39 million pairs of shoes were sold abroad, according to figures supplied by the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados).
Export revenues also posted growth. The increase was 6.1% and revenues reached $ 368.6 million.
However, the organisation has expressed concern that Brazilian leather shoes are losing market-share
Shoes with synthetic uppers headed exports in the first two months of the year, with 22.4 million pairs. They generated revenues of US$ 81 million for the national industry and were sold on average for US$ 3.6 per pair.
Exports of footwear with leather uppers, in turn, totalled 13.5 million pairs and generated revenues of US$ 259.9 million. The average price was US$ 19.18 per pair. Exports of shoes with textile uppers totalled two million pairs, and generated US$ 22.2 million, for an average price of US$ 10.93.
"Leather shoes, which have greater added value and employ more labour, are constantly losing space on the market, and this is a great concern for producers of this product," stated the vice president at Abicalçados, Ricardo Wirth, in a press statement issued by the organisation.
