The annual value of Portuguese exports of shoes to China rose by 17.1 percent last year to 20 million euros (about US$22.8 million), Lusa reports, citing the Portuguese footwear and leather industry association, APICCAPS.

APICCAPS announced in writing that in important markets outside the European Union, sales by its members grew faster only in Australia, where they grew by 39.8 percent, and in Canada, where they grew by 26.7 percent, the Portuguese news agency says in a report it carried last Thursday.

APICCAPS says Portuguese exports of footwear in the fourth quarter of last year exceeded the most optimistic expectations, reaching their highest value on record, which was 6 percent greater than the previous record quarterly value, achieved before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

APICCAPS data show that the annual value of Portuguese exports of footwear rose by 12 percent to 1.68 billion euros last year, accounting for over 95 percent of the value of shoes made in Portugal.

Portuguese makers of footwear have weathered the pandemic, its announcement quotes APICCAPS President Luís Onofre as saying.