According to Portuguese footwear, leather goods and related accessories manufacturing Association (APICCAPS) news, Portugal's footwear exports in 2007 achieved the best results in nearly 20 years, and exported 70 million pairs of leather shoes, an increase of 9.2% over the previous year. Portugal exported 90% of its output last year to 1 billion 230 million euros, an increase of 5.5% over the previous year. Portugal exports all over the world in 118 countries, and the EU is the main export market for Portuguese footwear. Last year, Portugal exported 65 million pairs of shoes to EU countries, of which France was the largest, followed by Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Holland. With the increasing popularity of Portuguese footwear, Portuguese speaking countries in Africa and China, UAE, Israel, Japan and South Africa have gradually become important markets for Portuguese footwear exports.