The former mayor of the El Porvenir district and shoe manufacturer, Victor Rebaza Benítez, warned about the 50% drop in sales of nationally produced school shoes due to the imports of shoes from Asian countries, especially China. The Trujillo footwear industry has not yet fully recovered from the problems caused by the pandemic and now has to face strong competition generated by the increase in the income of low-priced Asian footwear.

Victor Rebaza Benítez

“We are talking about the fact that sales have dropped by 50% due to the crisis and unfair competition through the imports of Asian footwear, mainly from China. To this we must add that educational institutions no longer require the single uniform. Now you can go with sneakers or dress shoes. This situation affects about 2,000 small and micro entrepreneurs who produce in 3,200 formal micro and small businesses,” said businessman Victor Rebaza Benítez in relation to the situation in the town of Trujillo – a large footwear-producing region.

Rebaza Benítez, who estimates that there may be a slight improvement with the start of classes, stated that of the ten dozen pairs that manufacturers sold, they currently sell two. The businessman explained that footwear from “China, Malaysia and other countries replace our national footwear because of the price, despite the fact that our product is made of leather.”

The businessman estimated that 80% of the market is taken by imported footwear, leaving only 20% for local production. In his statements, Rebaza complained about “the lack of State support for micro and small entrepreneurs” and pointed out that this industry “is in crisis.”