In the first four months of the year, Spain exported 59.9 million pairs of shoes, down by 2.20 percent year-over-year, for a total of €1.193 million, up by 0.04 percent as the average price per pair increased by 2.20 percent to €19.92, according to data released by Fice, the Spanish footwear association.
France was the country’s main export market, with 12.4 million pairs, up by 6.31 percent, totalling a value of €220.2 million, up by 4.34 percent.
Italy ranked as the second-largest foreign market for Spanish shoemakers, with 10.8 million pairs, down by 16.44 percent year-over-year, for €219.9 million, down by 6.23 percent.
On aggregate, France and Italy represented 38.9 percent of Spanish exports in volume and 36.9 percent in value.
Germany ranked as the third-largest export market in value. The country bought 4.8 million pairs from Spain in the four-month period, up by 4.66 percent, for a value of €114.9 million, down by 1.38 percent.
Due to the strong integration between the Spanish and Portuguese footwear industries, Portugal was the third-largest export market in volume, with 7.4 million pairs, down by 19.56 percent, for a total value of €108.5 million, up by 4.54 percent. “Portugal is always up and down. It is as if we are one country, since many Spanish companies manufacture in Portugal and the figures also depend on whether we have increased production or not,” explained Imanol Martínez, the Marketing and International Business Development Director at Fice.
Among other European countries, exports to the Netherlands fell by 9.49 percent in volume to 1.4 million pairs, and by 1.17 percent in value to €40.7 million, while those to the UK were down by 16.41 percent to 1.5 million pairs and by 11.48 percent to €34.8 million, and shipments to Belgium declined by 10.11 percent in volume to 1.0 million pairs and dropped by 2.40 percent in value to €29.7 million.
“The United Kingdom, since Brexit, has been continuously declining, while I believe that the negative performance with Belgium and the Netherlands is momentary. They are re-exporting countries that generate important volumes despite being small,” added Martinez.
Spanish footwear imports totalled 130.4 million pairs in the first four months of the year, up by 7.42 percent year-over-year, for a total value of €1.686 billion, up by 4.39 percent. The average price per pair was down 2.83 percent to €12.93.
China, Vietnam and Indonesia occupied the top three berths for footwear shipments to Spain, totaling an aggregate 75.8 percent of Spanish imports in volume and 58.8 percent in value.
“China and Vietnam remain the ideal countries to manufacture sports footwear, because of the know-how and also the cost. But we are seeing a relocation from China to other Asian countries, primarily Bangladesh,” Martínez explained.
Bangladesh surged to become the fifth-largest sourcing country for Spain, with 3.4 million pairs, up by 123.92 percent, for a total value of €26.6 million, up by 95.24 percent.
Italy was the leading European exporter to Spain, and the fourth-largest overall, representing 2.78 percent of Spanish imports in volume and 9.14 percent in value. The average price of Italian shoes sold in Spain was €42.55, up by 0.83 percent.
Among other European countries, Spain imported, in volume, 12.7 percent more shoes from Belgium and 14.3 percent more from the Netherlands.
“The increase from Holland and Belgium is due to the fact that there are important ports in those countries, like Rotterdam, where a lot of goods transit. But you also have to consider that the Netherlands now has brands that before Brexit were based in the UK and have moved to be in mainland Europe,” concluded Martínez.
This article appeared originally in our sister publication Shoe Intellgence.
Photo: © Chuttersnap on Unsplash
