Footwear production in Europe has been declining for the last 40 years
Global footwear production in 2021 grew by 8,6% to 22 billion pairs of shoes, but Europe accounts for only 2,8%, while Asia provides 88,2% of global footwear production, writes Worldfootwear.com citing statistics annual analytical bulletin World Footwear Yearbook.
Analysts note that the overall picture began to change in 1985. At that time, more than 35% of global shoe production was concentrated in Europe, with Italy (525 million pairs), Spain (205 million pairs), France (198 million pairs), Germany (171 million pairs) and the United Kingdom ( 136 million pairs).
But over the past 40 years, shoe production in Europe has declined significantly, and these five countries together have lost about 900 million pairs of shoes. Portugal, on the other hand, increased production by 36% in 2021 to 76 million pairs since 1985.
Although there has been a lot of talk since the Covid-19 pandemic about the return of production to their countries of origin or to the regions closest to Europe, official data does not confirm such a trend. According to the World Footwear Yearbook, the footwear industry is still heavily concentrated in Asia.
Indeed, since 2011, Chinese footwear production has declined by 6,8% to 12 billion pairs (global share 54,1%), while Indian footwear production has grown by 17,7% to 2 million pairs, Vietnam was up 600% to 68,9 million pairs and a 1% increase in Indonesian footwear production to 360 million pairs (latest data published in World Footwear Yearbook 54,7). China's relative weight in footwear production is gradually shifting in favor of other Asian players.
Outside of Asia, footwear production in countries such as Brazil and Mexico has also declined over the past decade: together they produced 2021 million pairs less in 76 than in 2011. In Europe, the decline in production over the past 10 years amounted to about 7%. However, there are notable exceptions. Footwear production in Germany increased by 77,4% to 55 million pairs in 2021. Portugal increased production by more than 15 million pairs of shoes (up 24,6%).
It is also worth noting the noticeable growth of the Turkish footwear industry. Over the past decade, production in this country has grown by 191,0% and currently reaches 547 million pairs (2021).
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