Portugal to invest in footwear export drive

A record number of Portuguese shoemakers exhibited at this year’s Micam show in Milan.

The footwear manufacturing sector in Portugal expects to invest around £117 million ($179 million) up to 2020, and intends to receive what it terms ‘formal public recognition’ as an industrial cluster.

According to the country’s leather and footwear sector association APICCAPS, the planned investments are being made with European Union assistance. The majority of this investment is to be channelled into innovation, with £36.6 million ($55.9 million) going into the exploration of new techniques, technologies and materials; £51.3 million ($78.3 million) being reserved for ‘internationalisation’ schemes, and £26.4 million ($40.3 million) being used for training purposes.

At the Micam trade fair in Milan, APICCAPS president, Manuel Carlos stated that the association aims over the next ten years to make the Portuguese footwear sector ‘the international benchmark for sophistication and creativity’. The intention, he added, is to boost the country’s exports based on a sustainable and highly competitive national productive base, founded on knowledge and innovation.

Ninety-three Portuguese shoemaking companies exhibited at this year’s Micam show – a record number and the second-largest foreign delegation at the event. More than 95 per cent of the country’s footwear production is reportedly exported to some 152 overseas markets.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the October 2015 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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