Chinese footwear exports are showing a consistent decline, continuing a slowdown that started in 2024. According to data from APICCAPS, between January and August 2025, exports dropped by 2% in volume to 6.05 billion pairs and by 8.8% in value to $28.9 billion US dollars compared to the same period last year.
In contrast, other Asian producers are witnessing strong growth. Vietnam’s footwear exports increased by 9.5% to $14.1 billion US dollars, Indonesia rose by 13.6% to €4.2 billion euros, and India grew by 3.7% to €1.4 billion euros between January and July this year.
The World Footwear 2025 Yearbook notes that China’s slowdown reflects its shifting economic structure and the continuing trade tensions with the United States.
Across Europe, the export performance has been mixed. The European Union saw a 3.2% increase in total footwear export value to €29.3 billion euros in the first seven months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
However, individual countries reported varied results. Portuguese footwear exports grew by 2.4% to €1.0 billion euros, while Spain and Italy saw declines of 1.9% and 1.6%, reaching €2.1 billion and €5.8 billion euros respectively.
Germany posted a modest increase of 1.4% to €5.7 billion euros.
Outside the EU, the UK continued to struggle, with a 16.7% drop in footwear exports to $387 million US dollars.
Türkiye also faced a decline of 14.6% to $612 million US dollars, mainly due to the ongoing depreciation of the Turkish lira.
On the import side, the United States remained the world’s largest footwear market, importing 1.3 billion pairs worth $16 billion US dollars between January and July 2025.
This represents a slight increase of 0.4% in volume and 4.6% in value from last year, indicating that US consumers are spending more on higher-priced shoes.
The European Union imported 1.9 billion pairs valued at €32.6 billion euros during the same period, marking an 11.2% increase in volume and 9.0% in value year-on-year.
Japan, the world’s third-largest footwear importer by volume, brought in 431 million pairs worth $3.6 billion US dollars, up by 4.1% in volume and 14.7% in value.
The data shows that Japan’s inflation and preference for low-cost textile footwear are shaping its market dynamics.
Brazil also showed remarkable growth, with imports rising 28.8% from January to July 2025. The Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) attributes this to intensified competition from Chinese products, fueled by the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China.
Source – APICCAPS
