Compared to the previous year, there was a drop of 7.3 per cent in quantity but an increase of 1 per cent in value. A key factor was the growth in the average price of Portuguese footwear exported, which increased by 8 per cent to 26.35 euros per pair.
In Germany, the primary destination market for Portuguese footwear, there was a slight drop (0.6 per cent) to 212 million euros. Europe's traditional engine "seized up" and, as a result, according to the German Shoe Association, "one in ten shoe shops closed last year, resulting in a total of 1,500 closures". In Europe, which closed the half-year in positive territory (growth of 0.6 per cent to 780 million euros), the highlights were France (up 6 per cent to 195 million euros), the Netherlands (up 2 per cent to 145 million euros) and the United Kingdom (up 4 per cent to 57 million euros). Outside of Europe, Canada (up 5 per cent to 13 million euros), Australia (up 11 per cent to 5 million euros) and Japan (up 0.3 per cent to 5 million euros) stood out.
After analysing the results for the sector, there was a 3.5 per cent increase to 1,153 million euros. This was mainly due to the performance of the footwear components sector, which grew 18.8 per cent to 39 million euros, and especially the leather goods sector, which continues to record highs: it rose 18.2 per cent in the first half of 2023 to 150 million euros.