Footwear exports are growing after the slowdown due toCovid-19, writes Luces de Siglo. Mexican shoe factories benefit from the move of U.S. companies away from China's supply chain in Asia, according to CICEG (Cámara de la Industria del Calzado del Estado de Guanajuato).
Mexican footwear exports recorded a record volume in 2021 thanks to higher demand from the United States.
According to the Chamber of Footwear Industry of the State of Guanajuato (CICEG), the domestic industry exported 29 million and 150 thousand pairs to the world, an increase of 32 percent compared to 2019 —before the pandemic—.
Daniel Sepúlveda, head of foreign trade and international affairs at CICEG, explained that the increase in Mexican exports responds to the fact that more and more U.S. companies are looking for new countries, in addition to Asia, to make their products.
"What American brands that produce in China are doing is diversifying their production in Mexico, on a smaller scale, but they have already sent us productions," he said.
That country, Sepúlveda added, requires 85 percent of the Mexican product that is sent abroad, concentrated in cowboy boots and leather footwear.
CICEG's foreign trade and international affairs manager said that the change in demand for Asian production by US companies is due to the various effects that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to that continent's supply chains.
"The interest of international brands to leave Asia is due to the very strong logistical increases, due to an issue related to the trade war, the impact that the pandemic has had with its zero tolerance in Asia, the delivery gaps of the production of the Asians themselves. In other words, what the American market wants is to have market speed, and it has it with Mexico," he said.
The latter, he explained, is the main reason why Mexico's export increases are due to U.S. demand.
"Now there are a lot of products of big brands in the country," he confirmed.
Another advantage of the Mexican market, he said, is that a lower minimum level of pairs is required in the country to start production than in China.
Sepúlveda estimated that although not all U.S. brands completely leave China to settle in Mexico, production volumes in the country will increase even more.
"Probably over time, some U.S. companies could order all of their production from the domestic footwear industry," he added.
For this 2022 the national footwear industry aims to bring more American and Canadian brands to be produced in Mexico, explained Sepúlveda, but also tries to prepare the sector in terms of professional training, social responsibility, customs security, competitiveness and productivity to thus provide those brands
