Around 70 companies from the footwear sector will be present in Milan starting today.

Sixty-eight Portuguese shoe and leather goods companies will take part in the international fairs MICAM, MIPEL and Lineapelle in Milan, Italy, from this Sunday, aiming to reverse a 5.1% drop in exports in 2023.

“This will be an important year for our activities,” says the president of the Portuguese Association of Shoes, Components, Leather Products and Leather Substitutes (APICCAPS), which organizes the national participation of a total of 68 companies in the MICAM shoe fair, MIPEL Leather. accessories and components for shoes and tanneries Lineapelle.

“Our sector exports more than 90% of its products and after a very difficult 2023 for the entire fashion sector internationally, we hope that this will be the year that Portuguese footwear is established in foreign markets,” he emphasizes Luis Onofre. .

Last year, the national footwear and leather goods sector exported 2.222 million euros, down 5.1% from 2022.

The footwear sector exported 66 million pairs of shoes worth €1.839 million, down 11.3% in quantity and 8.2% in value compared to the previous year.

As for the average price of exported shoes, it increased by 3.45%, to 27.70 euros per pair.

In the leather goods and leather goods sector, exports increased by 14% to €310 million, while in the shoe components sector, foreign sales increased by 13.6% to €73 million.

In this of three exhibitions, which will take place during the week, from today to Thursday, Portugal will be represented by 35 companies at MICAM (compared to 33 at the same time last year), one at MIPEL and 32 places at the components exhibition Lineapelle shoes and tanneries, 14 of which were shoe components.

The Portuguese footwear cluster, covering the footwear, components and leather goods sectors, consists of 1,500 companies that create 40,000 jobs and export 90% of their products to 173 countries on five continents.