Portugal produced 80 million pairs of shoes in 2024, 90 percent for export

Eighty million pairs of shoes were produced, 68 million of which were exported, a rate of 90 percent. In 2024, the Portuguese footwear manufacturing industry confirmed its dynamism and pursued its ambitions focused on sustainability and innovation.

According to data shared by APICCAPS (the Portuguese Footwear, Components, and Leather Goods Manufacturers' Association), footwear exports reached 2.15 billion euros in 2024.

The Portuguese footwear industry specialised in the export of leather shoes, which currently represents 83 percent of foreign trade. Portugal is currently the tenth largest global exporter.

Portuguese footwear was sold in 170 countries last year. In terms of international trade, the benchmark markets are Germany, France, and the Netherlands, respectively.

Portugal also exported over 90 million euros worth of shoes to the US. This is the market where Portuguese footwear showed the best indicators: 109 percent growth over the last decade. It remains to be seen what the impact of changing customs tariffs will be on this market in the future.

Aim: to become an international benchmark

Since 2024, the Portuguese footwear sector has affirmed its ambition and presented its strategic plan for the next decade, with the challenge of becoming ‘an international benchmark in the development of sustainable solutions’. To do this, it plans to invest 600 million euros by 2030. Two major investments are already underway; a 70-million-euro investment in sustainability (Bioshoes4ll project) and a 50-million-euro investment in automation and digitalisation (FAIST project).

The Portuguese footwear sector (footwear, components and leather goods) currently has 1,500 companies, totalling 40,000 jobs.