CHILE. Historic drop of 56.2% in footwear imports
According to data revealed by the Department of Studies of the National Chamber of Commerce -CNC- and the consulting firm Quant Research, widely disseminated by the local press, footwear imports decreased during the first half of the year 56.2% compared to the same period of last year. Meanwhile, the clothing item had a drop of 46%.
In retail sales, both sectors also had negative indexes: footwear -89.2% and apparel 87.9%, influenced by the closure of stores and commercial premises.
According to the report, the new data is the product of the global health crisis that put a general brake on activities, such as production, imports and consumption.
The volume of general imports from Chilean retail during the first half of this year fell by 30.2% year-on-year, the highest in the last 5 years.
Chile is traditionally one of the countries with the highest importation of footwear in Latin America, whose figures in recent years have shown slight declines. At the end of 2019, an approximate number of 105 million pairs entered, of which 60% were of Chinese origin, 18% from Vietnam, 5% from Indonesia, 4% from Brazil and 3% from India.
Depending on the social and economic evolution of the country and its impact on the consumer market, the question of where will the shoes used by Chileans come from remains pending.
According to commercial sources, the national footwear industry by size, capacity and production does not have a sufficient volume to satisfy local demand, therefore it is estimated that when activities recover, the largest imports will continue to arrive from the East.
However, there are forecasts that indicate that new opportunities may open up for footwear from Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
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