Brazil Wants To Form A Latin American Alliance Against Asian Footwear Industry

The Federation of footwear industry of Brazil said on the 17 th that it hopes to join hands with Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and Paraguay to resist competition from the Asian footwear industry. A head of the Federation told local media on the same day that the Federation had contacted with the Federation of footwear industries in Latin America and hoped to form a formal regional footwear industry alliance, "to save the industry in the face of competition in Asia". According to the statistics of the Federation, the footwear industry from Asian countries such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia has caused great pressure on the shoe industry in Brazil. From 1 to July this year, Brazil imported 13 million 100 thousand pairs of shoes from Asia, worth 110 million US dollars, 65% higher than that of 2006, while the Brazil shoe export volume fell 4% to 104 million pairs during the same period. Brazil is one of the major footwear exporters in the world. The footwear industry employs about 1 million people. It exports over 160 million pairs of shoes to more than 90 countries and regions in the world every year.