The Federation of Brazil footwear industry 17 said it had contacted the Federation of footwear industries in Latin America, hoping to jointly defend against competition from the Asian footwear industry.

According to Xinhua reported on September 18th, Brazil Footwear Industry Federation 17, expressed its hope to be able to join hands with Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and Paraguay to resist competition from the Asian footwear industry.

A head of the Federation told the local media on the same day that the Federation had contacted with the Federation of footwear industries in Latin America and hoped to form a formal regional footwear industry alliance to "save the industry in the face of Asian competition".

According to the statistics of the Federation, the footwear industry from Vietnam, Indonesia and other Asian countries has caused great pressure on Brazil's domestic footwear industry.

From 1 to July 2007, Brazil imported 13 million 100 thousand pairs of shoes from Asia, worth 110 million US dollars, 65% higher than that of 2006, while Brazil shoes exports fell 4% to 104 million pairs during the same period.

Brazil is one of the world's leading exporters of footwear, and its footwear industry employs about 1 million. It exports over 160 million pairs of shoes to more than 90 countries and regions each year.