Surcharge to China footwear boosts production in Franca
Folha de S. Paulo
The surcharge on Chinese footwear announced by the Government two weeks ago already yields businesses to the leather-shoe industry of the country, which is making plans to produce shoes that China would produce and send to Brazil. Male footwear manufacturer in Franca, Karlitos closed a contract to produce part of what Italian Kappa would make in China. The surcharge on the Chinese footwear, of US$ 13.80 per pair, cooled down the import, says the President of Karlitos, José Milton de Souza. The goal is to produce 1 million pairs for Kappa as of 2012, according to him.
The entrepreneur is also in an advanced stage of negotiations to produce footwear for a French retailer present in Brazil. The Adidas authorized producer in the country, Souza said he expects that the German manufacturer should also resume, in Franca, the production of some of the sneaker lines that had migrated to China.
At least four other national manufacturers have already closed contracts like Karlitos's after the announcement of the antidumping measure, according to the Executive Director of the Abicalçados (Brazilian Association of the Footwear Industry), Heitor Klein. According to Francisco Santos, President of Couromoda - a footwear fair -, the trend is that the sports brands that had moved their production lines return to Brazil. He evaluates that one of the signs of that interest is the search of the sports brands for space at the Couromoda 2011 after the Government announced the taxation.