Slowdown in US economy hurts Brazilian footwear exports
The Brazilian footwear producers’ association Abicalcados (Associacao Brasileira das Industrias de Calcados) has downwardly revised its export revenues projection for the 2001 by $100million to $1.7 billion.
The association has blamed the downturn on the slowdown in the US economy which accounts for 70% of all Brazilian footwear exports. However, the total figure still represents an increase of 9.8% over 2000.
A similar outlook is seen by the Brazilian footwear exporters’ association Abaex (Associacao Brasileira dos Exportadores de Calcados). Exports among its members are expected to be up by only 5% for the year as a whole - a major factor being the inability of many businesses to effect closure on deals set up at the main US shoe fairs.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian government has launched its ‘Programa Prioritario de Exportacoes’ – a new initiative aimed at boosting the country’s footwear and leather exports. According to Abicalcados, an estimated 10,000 companies (70% of them small sized enterprises) and 300,000 workers will stand to benefit from the initiative.
