The MICAM trade show, marking its 100th edition, features over 1,000 brands and anticipates attendance of approximately 42,000 visitors.
Forty-two Portuguese companies will participate, organized by the APICCAPS – Associação Portuguesa dos Industriais de Calçado, Componentes, Artigos de Pele e seu Sucedâneos.
“This is the most important and prestigious international fair, where we have the strongest Portuguese representation. It allows us to connect with global customers, beyond Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, and Korea,” stated Paulo Gonçalves, communication director of APICCAPS.
Despite the good performance of the Portuguese footwear sector this year, gaining ground over main competitors like Italy and Spain, uncertainties about the second half of the year persist.
This period is highlighted by the tariff agreement between the USA and Europe, the impacts of which on the footwear sector remain unclear.
Furthermore, some key markets show modest economic performance, notably Germany, which is “on the threshold of a technical recession,” for which Portugal exports 400 million euros worth of shoes annually, said the communication director of APICCAPS.
Nonetheless, the Portuguese footwear industry remains “relatively optimistic” due to the investments made in the sector.
There are ongoing investments exceeding 100 million euros in projects associated with automation and sustainable solutions.
“We prepared for challenging times. We aim to be a significant international reference in sustainable solutions and have invested heavily. The moment is challenging and demanding, but we did our homework,” remarked Paulo Gonçalves.
In this context, products from the BioShoes4All project, involving 70 partners such as research entities and companies, supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), will be presented for the first time.
This project, focused on sustainability, utilizes products that allow quick production and enhance recycling, including rice husks, cereal, olive pits, chestnuts, mussel shells, vine prunings, or algae for new materials, insoles, reinforcements, or shoe soles.
According to data from APICCAPS, in the first half of 2025, Portuguese footwear exports increased by 3.7% in value to 843 million euros.
From January to June, 36 million pairs were exported, an increase of 5.4%.
In 2024, the footwear cluster’s exports reached 2.147 billion euros.
Last year, Portugal produced 80 million pairs of shoes, with 68 million pairs exported, valued at 1.724 billion euros.
During this period, Portuguese footwear was sold in more than 170 countries, with Belize being the newest market.
Regarding new markets, APICCAPS “fine-tuned the strategy” and identified 145 cities worldwide capable of receiving Portuguese footwear, which ranks among the world’s most expensive due to its leather specialization.
Two-thirds of these cities are in Europe or the United States.
The Strategic Plan for the Footwear Cluster forecasts an investment of 600 million euros by 2030.
