Brazilian shoe industries had revenues of US$ 15.5 million with exports to the Arab countries in the first half of this year, according to figures disclosed by the Brazilian Association of Shoe Manufacturers (Abicalçados).
The total was 6.46% over that obtained in the same period in 2007, when the sector had revenues of US$ 14.5 million with sales to the region. Revenues were US$ 943,400 greater this year.
The growth was above the average for national sector exports as a whole, which reached US$ 951 million, up 1.5% over the same quarter last year. The countries in the League of Arab States answered to 1.6% of the Brazilian industry's export revenues up to the month of June.
In terms of volume, shoe exports to the Arab countries totaled 1.59 million pairs of shoes between January and June this year. The volume shipped was practically stable when compared to the same months in 2007, when exports reached 1.58 million pairs.
There was, in truth, a 0.41% reduction, but this was much smaller than the reduction registered in the sector as a whole, where exports dropped 2%, down to 89.4 million pairs of shoes shipped abroad.
The country that purchased most shoes from Brazil in the first six months of the year was the United Arab Emirates, whose purchases reached 608,500 pairs, for the value of US$ 7.6 million. There was a reduction in the volume shipped, 0.8%, but revenues grew 8.6%.
The second main Arab importer of Brazilian shoes was Saudi Arabia, with US$ 3.1 million and 412,400 pairs, followed by Kuwait, with US$ 1.7 million and 117,300 pairs.
Among the Arabs, other importers of Brazilian shoes this year were Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Oman, Djibouti, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria and Libya. Sector industries have been making efforts to sell more to the region.
Some brands, like Via Uno, Dumond, Carmen Steffens and Arezzo, even have shops in the region. Early this year, sector companies participated in a fair in the Emirates, Expo Riva Middle East, in Sharjah.
Anba
