Brazil has taken the first steps towards forming a commercial link between foreign buyers and Brazilian manufacturers by inviting 30 European shoe retailers and opinion formers to attend the Francal show in São Paulo. It is hoped the link will enable Brazilian footwear manufacturers to work with European buyers without the interference of a third party.

The country is also looking to encourage retailers to start buying direct from the factories, by allowing smaller orders to be placed. Traditional exporting tactics have involved large volumes of shoes which bore the importers' brands, but any new strategies should allow manufacturers to export their own brands and to do so in quantities required by the retailers.

The European mission was made of two teams - one formed by German and Greek entrepreneurs and another by German, Greek, Russian and Italian journalists. They were invited as part of the Brazilian Footwear export promotion program which has been developed by Abicalçados (Brazilian Association of Footwear Manufacturers) in partnership with ApexBrasil (the Brazilian Export promotion Agency).

Europe is a strategically important region for the Brazilian shoe sector. According to information provided by Abicalçados, in 2003, the 10 European countries that imported the largest volumes of Brazilian footwear bought 18 million pairs altogether, which generated a turnover of $187.5 million and amounted to almost 10% of all shoes exported by Brazil.

Table: 2003 Brazilian Shoe Exports to 10 European Countries

	Country		US$		% *		Pairs		% *
United Kingdom		105.541.394		6,81%		7.674.654		4,07%
Spain		18.499.009		1,19%		2.598.893		1,38%
The Netherlands		18.123.807		1,17%		1.226.856		0,65%
Germany		13.949.413		0,90%		1.503.971		0,80%
Portugal		8.424.408		0,54%		1.349.000		0,71%
France		6.308.823		0,41%		643.771		0,34%
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