Nuria Montes, Minister of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourismjoined this sunday Opening of MICAM Milano 2023Milan international shoe fair, which will take place in the Italian city until Wednesday, September 20. A total of 122 Spanish participants, 59 of whom are from the Valencian Community, are participating in the event. 97% of them are from Alicante. The sector creates more than 20,000 jobs in the autonomous region.
Montes, the autonomous government led by Carlos Mazón sees footwear and components as an “absolutely strategic” sector for the region’s economic developmentit is therefore finalizing “a three-axis support plan based on the key challenges facing the sector.”
“On the one hand, the human capital issue needs to be addressed; challenges of generational change up to Problems in finding qualified personnelIncluding the creation of an adequate working framework,” the consultant noted.
Secondly we have “ increase internationalizationbecause it is a heavily exporting sector that has had difficulty selling outside Spain in recent years.” Exports of shoes and their components from the Valencian Community In 2022 they will reach 1,300 million euros, almost half of the national total 3,000 million.
The third big challenge is “sustainability and circular economy“and this will depend on the demands of the European Union on the industry.” Additional difficulty due to the large number of components used “Companies in the sector are already developing very ambitious circular economy plans to reuse old shoes into new products or raw materials,” Montes added.
Export
Exports of footwear and accessories from the Valencian Community reached a record level worth 703 million representing euro It increased by nearly 2 percent compared to the same period last year. Thus, it is Spain’s largest shoe export region, accounting for 40% of the country’s total exports.
By product type, The majority of exports (56%) consist of leather shoes (6,403) increased its export value by 6% compared to the first half of 2022.
France and Italy are the main destinations for footwear in the CommunityIt constituted 14% of the total value exported by the sector, respectively. Along with Germany, the USA and Portugal represent 56% of the region’s shoe exports.
The biggest movement took place in the region Türkiye, Netherlands, Belgium and China marketsWho have them? higher growth rates It is among the main destinations for regional products.