title: “Brazilian Footwear Exports Remain Under Pressure as US and Argentina Weigh” seo_description: “Brazilian footwear exports fell 7.5% in volume and 16.8% in value in the first eight months of 2026, their worst result since 2020, with the US and Argentina together costing 111 million dollars in lost sales.” seo_tags: [“Brazilian footwear”, “Abicalçados”, “footwear exports”, “footwear imports”, “Argentina”, “United States”] seo_slug: “brazilian-footwear-exports-under-pressure-2026” source_url: “https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/brazilian-footwear-exports-remain-under-pressure/11761.html”

Brazilian Footwear Exports Remain Under Pressure as US and Argentina Weigh

Brazilian footwear exports continued to decline in August, with falls in both volume and value, and year-to-date figures remaining firmly negative even as imports keep climbing. Data compiled by the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) from Secex figures show the country exported 7.13 million pairs worth 70.8 million US dollars in August — respective declines of 6.6% and 8.1% against August 2025.

In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil exported 62.45 million pairs generating 541.45 million US dollars, representing year-on-year decreases of 7.5% in volume and 16.8% in value. Abicalçados noted these were the worst results since 2020, a year still affected by the pandemic. Executive President Haroldo Ferreira pinned the weak performance on developments in Brazil’s two leading international markets: the United States and Argentina.

“Year-to-date, the US and Argentina account for a loss of 111 million US dollars in exports compared to the same period last year,” Ferreira emphasised. “In the United States, we are still feeling the effects of the tariff increase, while in Argentina, consumption is falling and footwear from Asia is becoming more prevalent, driven by the reduction in tariffs on non-Mercosur products.”

The US remained the leading destination in August, with Brazil shipping 1.13 million pairs — a 40.5% increase compared with August 2023 — but value fell 9.2% to 19.42 million US dollars. That reflected a 35.4% decline in the average price of footwear exported to the US, to 17.20 dollars per pair, which Ferreira attributed to a sharper drop in higher-value categories, particularly leather footwear, changes in the sales mix, and the comparison base of August 2025. Across January to August, exports to the US totalled 7.38 million pairs worth 120.5 million US dollars, down 4.1% in volume and 22.8% in value.

Argentina also weakened, with August shipments of 1.25 million pairs worth 11.5 million US dollars down 23% in volume and 37.6% in value. For the eight-month period, volumes fell 51.6% and value 55.6%. Paraguay was the third-largest destination in August, with volume down 22.3% to 681,200 pairs but value up 21.1% to 5.2 million US dollars.

Imports moved the other way, rising 9.6% in volume and 11% in value to 33 million pairs worth 429.7 million US dollars for the first eight months, with China, Vietnam and Indonesia supplying around 80% of pairs entering Brazil. Against that backdrop, the domestic industry faces the dual challenge of softening key export markets and intensifying import competition at home.

Source: World Footwear (worldfootwear.com), reporting on Abicalçados / Secex data.