Talk of trade deal offers much-needed boost for Brazil’s shoemakers
Brazilian footwear manufacturers sold 219,600 pairs of shoes worth $4.1 million at the Expo Riva Schuh event in Italy in mid-January, according to association Abicalçados.
When adding total trade anticipated from the show, the figures jump to 862,000 pairs and $5.4 million.
Paola Pontin, business coordinator at Abicalçados, said: “Trade shows are excellent meeting points, enabling both the maintenance of relationships with existing customers and the prospecting of new contacts, which would be harder to reach without these initiatives. The positive signal around the Mercosur–European Union agreement gave negotiations an extra boost.”
Wagner Kirsch, commercial director at GVD International Wagner Kirsch, added: “2025 was very challenging and 2026 will be a year of hard work. The Mercosur–EU agreement added some spice to the trade show and motivated buyers. We maintained existing accounts and picked up a few new ones.”
The European Union and four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – reached an agreement in December. The goals are to increase bilateral trade and investment and lower tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The 104th edition of Expo Riva Schuh featured more than 1,000 exhibitors representing around 40 countries.
