Global footwear exports have witnessed 25 per cent growth in volume terms over the last 10 years, reaching 13.9 billion pairs, an increase of 78 per cent in sales terms, or $122 billion says the 2017 edition of the World Footwear Yearbook.
On the other hand, exports dropped in value and volume over the last two years. Since 2010 Asia, which remains the global leader in footwear exports, has seen exports fall 2 per cent while for the same period, Europe has gained three points and now accounts for 13.5 per cent of world exports. A trend, which potentially indicates, renewed interest in European production, lead by Italy, Spain and Portugal. China, meanwhile, still represents 67.35 per cent of global shoe exports, followed by Vietnam with 7.5 per cent of the market share.
As for imports, Asia has seen an increase of 5 per cent over the last 10 years. This figure sits just ahead of North America with 23.9 per cent of the import market. Accounting for 36.9 per cent of global imports, Europe remains the leading import market for shoes. However, country wise the United States accounted for 19.6 per cent of imports in 2016, a figure on the decline.
Finally, the average price of an export is $8.84, a decrease in price of 2.3 per cent. A decline over the last two years, which is partly due to a growing interest in sneakers and casual shoes, and a decline in leather footwear production, which are more expensive.
