1. In 2024, Portugal produced 80 million pairs of shoes. Excellent service, production quality and responsiveness are the main competitive arguments of an industry that has grown by 13,9% since 2020
2. Exports of the footwear cluster reached 2,220 million euros in 2024.
3. In 2024, the Portuguese footwear industry exported 67 million pairs of shoes, worth 1,72 million euros.
4. Portuguese footwear was sold in 170 countries last year. Exports currently account for 90% of production. Belize is the last stamp on the passport of Portuguese footwear exports.
5. In terms of international trade, the reference markets for Portuguese footwear are Germany, France, and the Netherlands, in that very order. The industry concentrates around 80% of its foreign trade in Europe.
6. In 2024, Portugal exported more than 90 million euros worth of footwear to the United States. The US is the market where Portuguese footwear has shown the best indicators in the recent past: 109% growth in the last decade.
7. The average price of Portuguese footwear was 25.91 euros at the end of 2024
8. The Portuguese footwear industry specialises in exporting leather-made footwear. These currently account for 83% of foreign trade. In fact, Portugal is the world’s 10th largest exporter. However, the Portuguese footwear exports are increasing in all other segments.
9. The footwear sector contributes with more than 1,003 million euros annually to the Portuguese trade balance.
10. The footwear cluster presented its Strategic Plan for the next decade, with the challenge of becoming "an international benchmark in the development of sustainable solutions”. To this end, it intends to invest 600 million euros by 2030. Two major investments are already underway, an 89-million-euro investment in sustainability (Bioshoes4ll project) and a 60-million-euro investment in automation and digitalisation (FAIST project).