Re-elected Brazilian footwear industry leader pledges to increase exports
The Brazilian Association of Footwear Manufacturers, Abicalçados, has re-elected its president for a second consecutive term.
Elcio Jacomti is Director of Calçados Jacometi of Franca/SP, a manufacturer of mens shoes founded by his father in 1968. He is president of the Franca Union of Footwear Manufacturers and president and founder of the Instituto Pró-Criança, a welfare organisation for the children of those employed by the local shoe industry. Mr. Jacometi is also regional director of CIESP - Confederation of Industries of the State of São Paulo and director of both FIESP - Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo - and the Franca Trade and Industry Association.
In a statement, Mr Jacometi said he viewed his main priority as being the contined promotion of Brazilian footwear on an international scale. The actions developed by Abicalçados over the previous two years were gathering strength, Mr Jacometi said, as their results became more visible among government officials. The "Brazilian Footwear" trade promotion programme developed by Abicalçados, for instance, had involved participation in international events (showrooms abroad, fairs and exhibitions as well as trade missions) in addition to the training of international footwear trade professionals. Consequently, the programme continued to benefit from the support of APEX - Brazilian Export Promotion Agency - that is directly linked to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
Despite the progress made, the re-elected president said he believed continued market penetration, job creation and the production of added value articles could only be sustained if exports of footwear were encouraged and increased. "The Brazilian shoe industry shall grow only if exports grow. The domestic market is fully supplied by the local industry and there is no indication that the market will expand in the near future. So that there may be new investment and new jobs, we must therefore seek new buyers beyond our borders,” Mr Jacometi asserted.
Approximately 6,000 shoe factories producing 540 million pairs operate in Brazil, providing employment for 240,000 people. Of the total production, 174 million pairs were exported in 2002.
