Brazil's footwear industry is recording rising imports alongside flat exports in 2025, according to sector association Abicalçados, a combination that puts pressure on domestic manufacturers and their supplier base in the country's main production clusters.

The trade imbalance matters for sourcing teams on both sides of the flow. For international buyers, Brazil's stagnant export performance raises questions about capacity, pricing and competitiveness among Brazilian suppliers relative to Asian alternatives. For Brazilian factories, growing import volumes mean competition in the domestic market from lower-cost footwear, much of it sourced from Asia.

What is driving the import increase?

Abicalçados, the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association, is the industry body that tracks the sector's trade performance and represents manufacturers concentrated in the country's southern and northeastern production hubs. Its assessment of 2025 points to imports gaining ground while exports fail to grow, leaving the trade account for footwear under strain.

The association has long argued that Asian imports — predominantly from China, Vietnam and Indonesia — compete against Brazilian-made product in the domestic market, and it has repeatedly pushed for trade defence measures. Its 2025 figures extend that pattern rather than breaking it.

What does flat exporting mean for suppliers?

For Brazilian manufacturers, exports are a key volume anchor. The sector ships product across Latin America and to long-haul markets, and export stagnation typically translates into underused capacity at factories that depend on foreign orders.

Buyers sourcing from Brazil — a regional nearshoring option for Latin American retailers — will want to establish whether flat exports reflect weaker demand in destination markets or eroding competitiveness on price and lead times at the factory level. The distinction determines whether the trend is cyclical or structural.

On the import side, rising inbound volumes suggest Brazilian retailers and brands continue to award orders to overseas suppliers despite the real's fluctuations and logistics costs. That is consistent with the broader pattern across Latin American apparel and footwear markets, where Asian supply chains hold the dominant share of import volumes.

What decision does this force?

For sourcing executives, the Abicalçados assessment frames two questions. First, whether Brazilian suppliers can hold or expand share in export markets on price and delivery — a matter of capacity investment and cost structure in the producing regions. Second, whether trade policy will respond: the association's advocacy for anti-dumping and other trade measures means import flows into Brazil face a credible risk of new restrictions.

Sourcing teams placing orders into the Brazilian market should monitor any trade-remedy proceedings Abicalçados backs, as new duties would change landed costs for imported footwear. Teams sourcing from Brazil should treat the flat export line as a prompt to audit supplier utilisation and pricing before committing 2026 volumes.