Spanish shoe sales rise 15%
2006 figures for the Spanish footwear industry confirm that the slow but progressive recovery predicted by the Federation of Spanish Footwear Industries (FICE) has started to occur.
According to the federation, there were 2,283 Spanish footwear companies in 2006, providing direct jobs to more than 33,500 people. Some 118 million pairs of shoes were manufactured with an estimated value of just over €2 billion and 319 million pairs of shoes were sold in Spain with a value of €1.98 billion.
According to FICE, some 94.6 million shoes were exported in 2006, with a value of €1.72 billion. This represented a 4.3% increase compared with 2005 and a 6% increase in terms of average price. Leather footwear accounted for 54.7% of exports and the average price was €25/pair, a year-on-year increase of nearly 4%. The EU accounted for 81% of exports in terms of quantity (76.5 million pairs) and 75% in terms of value (€1.29 billion), a 3% decrease in volume and a 2% increase in value. The average export price in the EU increased 5.4%.
Imports totalled €1.64 billion and some 296 million pairs of shoes. This represented an 18% increase in value and a 20% increase in volume. Leather footwear accounted for 22% of imported pairs, an increase of 13%.
Spain is the second largest producer and exporter of footwear in the EU, selling to more than 140 countries last year.
