We learn from the news @abicalçados, that Argentina is reinstating restrictions on footwear imports, hurting Brazilian exports, just as Abicalçados confirmed that the footwear industry had achieved its best job creation result since 2004 in May. Argentina is the second largest export market for Brazilian footwear and the footwear association has complained about it to Mercosur Commission and Argentine Embassy.
New restrictions in Argentina on shoe imports
The second main destination for Brazilian footwear abroad, Argentina has once again imposed restrictions on imports in the sector. On June 27, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) modified the conditions of access to the Single Exchange Market for the payment of imports. The measure tends to temporarily limit imports, in order to contain the outflow of foreign currency from the country and maintain the level of international reserves. Until September 30, 2022, payments for goods will be released only after 180 days.
The executive chairman of Abicalçados (Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Calçados), Haroldo Ferreira, shows concern about the measure and says it could make the export operations of some companies on the market impractical. "Considering that the payment will take place six months after the arrival of the goods at their destination, some assets will be damaged and others unfeasible," he assesses.
The news took the Brazilian footwear sector by surprise at a time of recovery. According to data processed by Abicalçados, between January and May, footwear exports amounted to 64.24 million pairs, which generated 538.72 million dollars, increases of 30.3% in volume and 66.5% in turnover compared to the same period last year.
Argentina is the second international market for the green-yellow product, having imported, in the period, 6.82 million pairs, which generated 74.62 million dollars, with increases of 64% and 93.7% respectively compared to the same range of 2021.
Brazil: Best May for Brazilian footwear occupation since 2004
Abicalçados had recently reported the latest MTE data, which showsthat 289,700 people were directly employed in the footwear sector at the end of May, an improvement of 18% compared to May 2021.
Abicalçados also noted that between January and May 2022 , 23,470 jobs had been created in the sector.
The largest employer state in the footwear industry is Rio Grande do Sul, which has created 6,580 jobs so far in 2022, closing May with 82,420 people employed in the business, an increase of 15% year-on-year.
The executive chairman of Abicalçados, Haroldo Ferreira, had said that the recovery of jobs in the footwear sector had been faster than in the manufacturing industry in general, which in January recorded a growth rate of 4.5%, the highest compared to the same period in 2021.
Argentina case: Abicalçados protests to mercosur Commission
Concerned about the repercussions on the footwear sector due to the new import restrictions launched by Argentina, the executive president of the Brazilian Association of the Footwear Industry (Abicalçados), Haroldo Ferreira, met on July 7, with the president of the Mercosur and International Affairs Commission and of the Parliamentary Front for the Support of the Leather-Footwear Sector of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul, Vice Issur Koch, and with the Consul General of Argentina in Rio Grande do Sul, Jorge Perren. On the occasion, the abicalçados executive expressed concern about the new measures imposed by the country close to Brazilian exports. The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Argentine Consulate, in Porto Alegre/RS.
The Argentine consul received the request and undertook to transmit it to the Embassy and the Ministry of Economy. At the same time, Abicalçados and the Mercosur Commission will contact the Extraordinary Secretariat for Federative and International Relations (Serfi) and the Embassy of Argentina to express concern about the decision.
The meeting was attended, in addition to the director of Abicalçados, the executive director of the Trade, Industrial and Services Association of Novo Hamburgo, Campo Bom and Estância Velha (ACI), Leandro Cezima.
