CALZATURA

PORTOGALLO

The years 2001 saw a boom for the Portuguese footwear industry. Last years the figures for the country´s shoes production increased by 4.5%, imports fell by 6.85%, while exports went up by 2.9% in volume and by 11.9% in value. there are diverging opinios on the reason behind this exploit. Firms working in the industy give credit for the excellent performance reached in 2001 to cuts in salaries, which allowed firms to make significant reductions in their production costs. The National Association of Footwear Manufacturers (APICCAPS) on the other hand, attribute the positive trend to an increase in investments. According to APICCAPS in 2001, 100 million Euros were invested, above all in introducing new technology which in turn caused an increase in production.