PORTUGUESE FOOTWEAR MOVE AWAY EUROPEAN COMPETITORS

Portugal is the only European country with a positive balance in the footwear sector

Portugal is the only European country that has a positive balance in the footwear sector. The strong export vocation of companies in the sector distances European competitors in this important economic indicator.

The Portuguese footwear industry is a rare case in Europe. Portugal exported, in the middle of a pandemic, 61.3 million pairs of shoes to more than 160 countries. In that period, it imported 44.6 million pairs, presenting a net balance close to 17 million pairs of shoes.

The two major competitors, Italy and Spain, showed again a highly deficit balance. The largest European producer, Italy, exported 165.2 million pairs of shoes and imported, in 2020, 271.1 million pairs. The negative balance amounts to 101 million pairs. Spain has a similar behavior: 134.1 million pairs exported, imports of 245.3 million and a negative balance of 11.1 million pairs in 2020.

Overall, the European Union has a profoundly negative balance. In 2020, Europe exported 1619 million pairs of shoes. In the same period, it imported 2974 million pairs, presenting a "loss" of more than 1355 million pairs.

This deficit record is common to all the main players in the European Union. The biggest imbalance is registered in Germany and Belgium, the largest footwear exporters in Europe, with 293.5 and 242.8 million pairs, respectively. They are also the two largest footwear importers in Europe. In 2020, Germany imported 634 million pairs of shoes; Belgium 403.6 million pairs. Understandably, these are the two countries with the most unbalanced trade balances. Considering that they do not have a strong industrial structure, Germany and Belgium essentially function as distribution centers. Although on a smaller scale, France (403.6 million pairs in 2020) and the Netherland (228.9 million) are also distinguished as natural importers, but also re-export hubs. France exported 107.6 million pairs of shoes last year and the Netherlands 161.8.

In the East, the most surprising is Romania's performance. The promising Romanian industry exported, in 2020, 26.2 million pairs of shoes. In the same period, it imported more than 60 million. The balance is, therefore, profoundly negative. Poland has the worst record: a negative balance of 93 million pairs, since it exported 115 million, having imported more than 215. Only Slovakia has an innocuous record, with 55.4 million pairs exported and the same amount (55 million) imported.