Despite the 11% drop seen in its total export business in 2002, the Brazilian shoe industry still managed to post some spectacular gains in individual markets.
One such market was Mexico where imports of Brazilian shoes soared 58% between January and November, reaching $34.3 million. Another was the Netherlands, where imports from Brazil increased 48% on the year before, to US$ 11.4 million.
The figures were supplied by the Brazilian footwear producers federation ABICALÇADOS whose director, Heitor Klein, attributes the increases to the determined effort made by the industry in recent years to reduce its reliance on the US market. In particular, he cites initiatives such as the ongoing ABICAÇADOS-PSI-APEX agreement which has the backing of $ 6.3 million in joint funds from APEX and the private sector.
"While the US continues to offer fantastic opportunities for growth, the time has long since passed when we could afford to concentrate on this market alone.” observed Klein. “But even we have been surprised at the extent of our gains in these other markets.”
